Fire and Ice
by ReapersAdvocate
Summary: The beautiful desert scenery is only a disguise hiding one of New Mexico's ugliest secrets. When Lily's family is headed through for a vacation, who will survive and who will fall victim to the monsters in the hills? LizardxOC
1. Chapter 1

AN~ Hallo thar! So I will warn you that I have absolutely no clue what I am doing. I've honestly never really been into creative writing and only recently got into the world of fanfiction. But then I saw The Hills Have Eyes on Halloween night this year just for the hell of it and instantly fell in love. Can't say why, I just did. Sooo...I randomly decided to start writing a story. I'm really not exactly sure how far it's going to go or what the hell's even going to happen, but if you so wish, come along with me for an interesting ride.

There will be language, violence, and possibly *gasp* sex! :O

Emphasis on the possibly.

Ye have been warned.

By the way, since I'm incredibly new to this, comments and criticism will be immensely appreciated. And you know what, I'm going to be different and say that even flames are welcome as they will provide me with hearty lulz.

And so, without further ado...

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Chapter 1

Did you know that the color red is the most easily visible color to the human eye? It stands out more than any other to us. That's why it's the color that represents passion. It's the color of romance. The color of love and sexuality.

To me, it is the color of the life leaving my body…

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After the same scenery for the last 5 hours, I don't believe I have to elaborate on just how mind numbingly bored I was. I had eventually taken to spinning my ring around on my finger obsessively. I never took that ring off and often forgot about the plain band of hematite on the middle finger of my left hand, unless someone complimented me on it. On the rare occasion I noticed it, though, I tended to fiddle with it.

My family had been driving through desert terrain for the last four days on our way to the border. We're from Washington state and headed to Mexico to meet family I didn't even remember the names of. I was pretty excited, but I knew it was probably going to be a bit awkward. I didn't know any of these people and I knew they were all going to be more interested in talking to my parents and catching up with them. I predicted much swimming and picture-taking in my near future.

My parents had always told my brother and I about our family in Mexico. Both sides had family down there, and each was just as huge as the other. Some didn't even speak much English. I never got around to learning Spanish, so you can bet I was reading the translation book we brought furiously on the drive.

My grandpa lived in southern Utah and loved to drive, so he would drive down there and spend a week or two with my Great Uncle, who I actually met once when I was little. My grandpa would always come back with pictures and stories and my parents finally decided it was about time we went on a trip to experience the greatness that is Mexico, ourselves. But with so many interesting places and family members and friends on the way down, they decided it would be a fantastic idea to drive there...

As enthralling as the first few hours of the scenery was, the wonder quickly wore off and was replaced by boredom. It was a completely different world out here, from my home in Seattle. There was something elegant about the red desert hills and endless sea of rocks and sand, at first, and the photographer in me couldn't resist asking my parents every few miles if we could pull over so I could get a few shots. But as time wore on, I finally realized that my pictures were turning out more or less the same. That's when I decided maybe the desert wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Sure, it was neat, but nothing really seemed to stand out. Nothing that made one rock structure that much different than the next. Just static scenery that seemed to go on forever. I had a feeling I was not going to enjoy the rest of this ride.

"Hey, Lily, it's your turn to pick a CD."

I snapped out of my pondering as my brother, Lexis, threw the CD case into my lap. I picked out a mix I made just for the trip, and handed it to him. "Thank ya, ma'am," he said in a silly voice and handed it up to our mom. She took it and slid it into the CD player.

Just then, my dad spotted a tiny gas station just up ahead and mused aloud whether or not we should stop for snacks and such.

"Terrance, look at the gas gauge, we need to stop anyway," my mom told him. Dad just nodded and pulled over into the parking lot of the gas station.

I was already back to twirling my ring while Lexis was bobbing to the loud rock music playing in the car. We came to a stop at a pump, the entire lot vacant except for us and a dusty old Toyota which I doubted even ran. There was a tiny convenience store inside, just as we had hoped. Dad got out to take care of the car and mom got out to stretch her legs and enjoy the view.

I was honestly quite sick of the view, so I nudged my brother, "You wanna go grab some drinks or something? I've been craving something other than water all day." Lexis laughed, "Why? You think they'll have blood in there?"

He was, of course, making his hourly joke about my wardrobe, which consisted mostly of black. I frequently like to wear my fake fangs just for the hell of it, and I like dark makeup. Don't get me wrong; I don't like to believe I'm a real vampire, and I don't take myself seriously, I'm actually pretty silly. At least I am for a twenty year old.

My brother, being two years my junior, made fun of me frequently. It was pretty much his obligation, as my little brother. But in all honesty, he was protective of me. We got along very well for siblings. We were homeschooled when we were much younger, so we kind of had to learn to get along.

"Ha ha..." I said sarcastically as I jumped out of the car and brushed off my black capri's adorned with many safety pins, courtesy of moi. I also pulled up the top of my low cut red and black striped tank top. Mom liked to complain about how my shirts showed too much skin, constantly, although she was the one that kept buying them for me. Actually, that was really most of what I owned. I was odd in many senses, but particularly in the sense that I was very self conscious, but most of what I wore seemed to attract far too much attention. I didn't like people watching me, but I always got nothing but weird stares as I walked down the street. Most people liked it, thought it was "cool" or "brave" that I looked the way I did, but my mom really never did approve all that much. Mostly because of the attention, she saw it as a negative thing, but I thought she was just worrying about nothing. But I digress; as much as it bothered my mom sometimes, the only desert appropriate clothes I had were not what she would necessarily consider appropriate. So she would just have to deal with it.

Lexis and I stretched the stiffness out of our legs for a minute before we headed into the decrepit little store.

We made our way straight to the giant refrigerator full of drinks. I found a bottle of orange juice and Lex grabbed a mango juice smoothie drink. He called for the owner of the store, "Excuse me, we're ready to check out!"

We waited nearly a minute before a nearly toothless old man came out of one of the back rooms to the counter. "Well hallo there! Can I help you with those?" he asked, running up to the counter and grabbing the cash we had ready in our hands from us.

Lex and I simply exchanges glances before smiling back at the shaky old man. He seemed nervous...anxious. Like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. I kept my mouth shut and just smiled, awkwardly brushing my hair behind my ear, exposing many piercings.

"While you're available," Lexis said politely to the man, "could you come out and talk with my dad about directions to our next destination? Knowing dad, I figured I'd ask you now, before he hunts you down later to ask."

I had to stifle a giggle. I loved my dad, but he could be obnoxious about some things. Traveling was one of them.

My father, Terrance, was always on the search for new, better routes. He would do the hula and lick a frozen pole if someone told him it would save us fifteen minutes of driving. This trip was already ridiculously long, he would want to know if there was a way to get to our next destination quicker. We already had a route planned out, but this guy might know of a path that wasn't as well known. Worth a try, anyway. If it meant getting us away from this barren desert wasteland, I would be more than happy to try anything this guy had to offer. Coming from the inner city, I almost craved the sight of buildings.

The old man nodded his head. "Sure thing, 'e needs ta see me ta pay, 'nyway. No use fer credit cards 'round 'ere."

I remembered that the pump did look pretty old, it made sense that it wouldn't have a card scanner. Good thing mom always liked to carry cash on her.

My mother, Rose, was always on top of things. She liked to be prepared, which was good, cause that meant my brother and I didn't have to think too much about being prepared for these trips we went on. I just had to pack my own personal stuff and I was set. I liked it that way, I hated getting all stressed over trips that were supposed to be fun and relaxing.

The old man rushed out after taking care of our purchase to greet our parents. "Poor guy seemed a bit on edge, don't you think?" I said, turning to my brother. "Maybe he sensed you were here to drink his blood!" Lex joked, poorly mimicking Dracula and turned to go back to the car.

I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the store. I took a sip of my orange juice, beginning to daydream about the rest of our trip, happy thoughts in mind, blissfully unaware of the Hell that awaited us...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"It was really nice of that man to show us this short cut!" dad happily exclaimed.

Mom had the map spread out over her lap, looking frustrated. "Honey, are you sure this is right? This path isn't even on the map. Are you sure he knew this was the right way?"

"Rose, come on, he's lived out here his whole life, pretty much, and it's not like there's much else out here. I'm pretty sure he'd know his way around out here," dad smiled at her reassuringly. Mom said nothing and just folded the map back up.

I had taken to slowly chipping the black nail polish off of my fingernails after I got bored of taking pictures of Lex and I making funny faces. Lexis was playing on his PSP. An angsty song from Korn was playing now, and my brother and I bobbed our heads while dad drummed on the steering wheel and mom simply read a book. She didn't mind our music but she didn't particularly love it.

I heard a loud noise and we started veering out of control. I screamed and Lexis threw his arm across my chest in an attempt to protect me. After a few very long seconds, we finally reached one of the large rock structures lining the road...and crashed.

XXXXX

I blinked a few times, slowly waking up. The pain caused me to wince. I couldn't tell if I had any specific injuries, I just felt pain everywhere. I noticed that my arm was bleeding profusely, probably a cut from a glass shard.

My parents were out and Lexis was breathing sharp, heavy breaths, but not moving or making noise otherwise. I whimpered and found a way to crawl out of the wreckage. As soon as I tried to stand, my legs crumpled beneath me as a steady stream of tears flooded down my face. I hit the ground hard, unable to get back up and cursed myself for being weak now, when my family needed me so much. I wanted to help them out, but I couldn't move.

It was growing dark, the sun setting behind the red hills. I almost laughed aloud when I mentally mocked my parents for bugging me about wearing so much black clothing. I wouldn't be the one with blood stains to worry about after this.

Lord, I'm probably going to be eaten by coyotes come nightfall while my family bleeds out and I actually spared a moment to think of my clothing. I actually did laugh out loud this time. But then I realized that last part to that thought...'_after this.' _I seemed to hope we were going to make it out of here alive. But did I really? It had only been a fleeting notion, getting out of here. Now that I thought more on it, it seemed as though the situation was grim.

My heart rate sped up when I heard rustling in some nearby bushes. Great, being eaten by coyotes is going to happen sooner than I expected. I could hear my pulse in my ears as my heart rate sped up in anticipation of my imminent death. Being eaten alive by animals is one of the worst ways I can think of to die. I was losing blood quickly, maybe I'd die before they reached me.

I could only hope.

I began to see shadows moving, no, darting, as my vision started to become blurry. I hoped I was just imagining things. I instead focused on watching my precious red water flow out of my arm.

Then...darkness.

XXXXX

I heard things shuffling around me.

Footsteps?

Then I heard distant voices. Did we get to our hotel in Texas yet? I felt so sore. Must be I was asleep in the cramped backseat for a long time. No, wait, something's wrong. I can't quite tell what the voices are saying, but I can tell they're shouting angerly.

Did Lexis make a new friend just like last time we went to the desert? The corners of my lips twitched into a smirk at the memory of our last trip to Utah. Lexis had caught a scorpion and put it in a container to bring it back home with us to keep as a pet. When mom opened that container instead of the one filled with delicious fruity snacks, she threatened to throw it down his pants if he didn't release it back into to its natural plasticware free habitat.

No, I thought, losing my smile. This sounds intense. My family's always been fairly calm. We may raise voices a bit, but we handle things rationally. Something wasn't right.

"They" weren't right.

And then it hit me...I didn't recognize these voices.

I tried to open my eyes but they were so heavy. Through the slight parting, I could only make out blurry shadows. There were five figures standing around me. I took a deep breath and forced myself to open my eyes more. Everything stayed blurry for a moment, but I finally started to distinguish colors, then shapes...then faces.

I think the only reason I didn't scream was because I feared for my life too much. I shut my eyes tight and was so scared of making any noise that I almost held my breath.

These were not normal people.

XXXXX

**Narrator's POV**

_Shortly before Lily opened her eyes..._

"Bu' Mama! I wan' 'em! I wan' new friends!" a young girl whined.

"Nah! They ain't no good 'round here 'sides food! Wha' 'bout them nice youngins two houses down?" an older woman insisted. "They be 'round yer age, why can' yeh play with 'em?"

"No, Mama! I wan' 'em! They mine!" she nearly screamed. It almost sounded like desperate pleading.

A male with a gruff voice and obviously the leader sighed. "Fine...bu' they yer 'sponsibility, Ruby, yeh hear me? Yeh can' 'spect their kind to stick 'round willin'ly. You let 'em 'scape...Imma hav'ta shoot 'em."

The soft rustling of a young girl nodding vigorously could be heard.

Two people came storming into the room, almost trampling the two unconscious figures on the floor, and breaking the brief calm.

"Wha' th' fuck is goin' on?" the slender one shouted. He waved a pistol around in rage, making the young girl noticeably uneasy.

"Now Lizar', calm down!" the woman barked back, stepping in front of the girl, as if to protect her. The second individual that had entered the room moments earlier simply looked down at the people around him, trying to make sense of what was going on with an occasional huff or grunt.

"Tha' bitch was 'sposed to be mine! An' tha other un's 'sposed to be tonight's dinner!" the slender man whined as if he had been denied a prize he had rightfully earned. He stopped waving his gun as the realization that he wasn't going to change any minds started to sink in.

The woman just glared at the man with the gun. "They're Ruby's now, an' yer gonna treat 'em like they hers, ya hear? Don't be doin' nothin' to 'em that she won' like. An' don' think we won' find ou' if yeh try anythin' stupid."

"Goddamn it, since when did we star' takin' care o' fuckin' ou'siders? Why yeh protect'n 'em like that?"

The leader of the group puffed up his chest threateningly. "Yer gonna listen to yer ma an' respec' Ruby's new lil' friends. She insis'ed we bring 'em in, so I figured we'd give it a chance, fer her sake. Don' do anythin' to hurt 'em or I'll send yeh o'er to work fer yer Uncle Hades' fer a month, yeh hear me?"

The slender one appeared unfazed by the threat, but growled in compliance.

The quiet one finally boomed, "Fam...ly?"

"Yea, Pluto," the man in charge responded.

"They part o' the fam'ly, now."

XXXXX

**Lily's POV**

Even though I had my eyes shut tight, I could still see the faces I had glimpsed moments earlier as if they had been burned into my mind.

The woman was short, overweight, and had shoulder length light brown hair and a stern face. Her drab 1960's style dress and apron made her look like the type of woman who cooked and cleaned in the house all day while her husband and children were out on the farm.

The man standing next to her had unruly black hair with streaks of gray. He looked like someone not to be messed with and sported a large, filthy black trench coat. I thought I had noticed some large blood stains, but pushed that thought from my mind and decided it was just mud...as if there would be mud out in the desert.

Across from the both of them was a small, timid looking young girl, around the age of fourteen. She had dark skin, as though she had spent far too much time in the unforgiving desert sun. Her face was gentle, but something was odd about it...slightly lopsided, I would say. She was wearing a red hoodie which hid her long brown hair. A look of fear and compassion in her big eyes made me wonder that much more what was really going on here...

Standing apart from the other three, were two males. Both terrifying, but in different ways. One was impossibly large with nearly no hair. His face was so bulgy and deformed one eye almost appeared to be swollen shut. This giant was clad in an almost nice looking suit, albeit it was very worn and dusty.

The other man was of medium height, but thin. He had shaggy hair that at first glance seemed gray, but after a second glance, appeared sun bleached and coated with light colored sand. The outfit this man sported was just as dusty as the last mans, but certainly much more worn and tattered. His pants were almost shredded all the way up to the knee and his filthy white shirt seemed almost pointless to wear, being in its current state. It appeared the only thing he wore that was pretty well in tact was an orange vest. His most notable feature, however, was his severe cleft lip. His jaw was also slightly off center, but that lip...It left him looking to be in a constant snarl.

But the thing that made me most uneasy, more than his looks, was his body language. Something about the way he moved; the way he held himself. I was truly afraid of what he might be capable of. Oh yeah, the gun and huge strip of nasty looking spikes hanging over his shoulder didn't help a whole lot...


	3. Chapter 3

AN ~ Hey again, people! So I meant to update about a week ago, but I've been terribly sick ever since Christmas, so I decided to post two chapters today to make up for that :(

Anywho, I'd like to thank Lauren Kassidy and kaaayyytteee for the reviews, they were greatly appreciated! It's nice to know that people are actually reading this crap. XD

Moar reviews, plz! Kthnxbai.

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**Chapter 3**

I sorted through a hundred different ideas on what the hell was happening, none of them seeming plausible. And nothing my frenzied brain could conjure up explained who these people were. I shut my eyes a little tighter, trying to ignore the people standing just a few feet in front of me. Okay, what's the last thing I remember? I remember we were on our way to Mexico. We had stopped at a gas station where dad had been told about a new route that would save us some time. We were driving along this shortcut, aaaand...blank.

I'm missing something. How did I get from the car to here? Does my family know where I am? Are they looking for me right now?

Wait...

I seemed to remember the distinct smell of blood. There was a lot of blood and broken glass. Oh lord, we had crashed, hadn't we? I remember now, everyone was in need of medical assistance; I was no exception. The pain in my arm flared up as I remember seeing my blood slowly leak out of it. My whole body winced at the thought. I had no aversion to blood, but I had a thing about raw flesh and open wounds. It just made me feel queasy.

I swallowed hard and choked back the tears as I remembered what shape the rest of my family was in. What had happened to them? Were they here, too? What the hell was going on here...

A pair of arms slid under me and picked me up effortlessly, as though I were a child. Sure, I was small; at the age of 20, being 5'7 and 115 lbs. got a lot of jokes thrown my way. But this person carried me like I was a doll.

It took everything in me not to scream, but my eyes shot open of their own accord. I had taken Karate classes for quite a few years when I was younger. Although I had forgotten most of it, the skills and the tenacity had stuck. The fighter in me needed all my senses present and accounted for. I can't react appropriately when I can't see.

And finally, that scream that I had suppressed so well finally broke free.

The bulgy, fleshy face I had glimpsed earlier was inches from mine. I instinctively flinched away from the gargantuan being carrying me up the stair case of a dingy, decrepit house. The huge, lumbering man took me into a bedroom and gently laid me down on one of the two beds in the room. I panicked and screamed again, trying to punch and kick him.

I realized that my ankles were bound and I reached down frantically to untie them. The giant next to the bed quickly grabbed my wrists and pinned them down on the bed on either side of my head.

"Yo' wait...fo' Ruby," the giant formed the words slowly, with a lot of effort. He flashed me a nearly toothless smile. I struggled, but he may as well have been made of stone. I glanced around the room, looking for something to use as a weapon as soon as I got free, but the room was entirely bare other than the two beds, a small window with pale green curtains, and a bed side desk with a lamp on it.

In an effort to distract him, I asked, "W-who's Ruby?" He beamed again, almost fondly. "Fam'ly," he stated simply. 

Ruby must have been one of the ones I saw earlier; perhaps the young girl? I hoped it was, she was the only friendly looking one.

Then, both the females I saw earlier walked into the room, with the gruff looking man in the black trench coat tailing them. He had something in his arms.

A body.

I recognized that silly Invader Zim tee shirt. "Lex!" I screamed, struggling against the man hovering above me with all my strength. It was useless. The man carrying my brother placed him on the other bed and after watching closely for any movement, I began to cry. He wasn't moving; why wasn't he moving?

"Don' worry, little un. He jus' out. He'll wake up inna few hours," the woman calmly explained.

"Who the fuck are you people? What do you want with us?" the words exploded from my lips, bitterly.

"Now calm down, we ain't tryin' to hurtcha," The woman responded. That wasn't an answer. "What the hell's going on?" I screamed again. The woman glanced at the young girl standing next to her in the doorway. The girl took a small step forward.

"I..I wantcha to be...my friend," the girl said, not making eye contact.  
I stopped struggling for a moment, sure I had heard wrong. "What?" I asked dumbly. The girl smiled softly. "Ya been hurt. Let me help?"  
Completely caught off guard, I stupidly blurted out the words, "Uhm...yeah. Yeah, sure."

I must be dreaming. There was no other explanation for this madness.

The girl beamed at me and ran over by my side. The giant let go of my wrists and swept me up in his arms again, while the girl held my hand, walking next to the man carrying me. "I'm...my name is Lillian. Lily," I said quietly.

The girl smiled up at me. "Ruby," She said softly. So she was Ruby. The lumbering man slowly set me down on the bathroom counter. I looked up at him. "And who are you?"

"Pluto!" the man bellowed as though he were proud of himself for answering a difficult question. I nodded numbly.

"And the others?" I asked Ruby as she pulled antiseptic and bandages out of a cabinet. "The man's Papa Jupiter an' the lady's Big Mama. My ma an' pa." The girl explained while dabbing the antiseptic on my arm. I hissed and clenched my hands into fists. I turned just enough to see my reflection in the mirror.

My long brown hair was matted with blood and desert sand and there were a few scratches on my face, right above my right eyebrow. "Yer lucky," Ruby said. "No broke bones." I silently nodded again.

"What about my brother?" I said after a moment's silence, tears starting to trickle down my face.

"He fine. Two broke fingers, bu' we fix," She smiled reassuringly. I closed my eyes tightly. "And...my parents?"

Ruby didn't respond.

I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Ruby, I need to know. Please, where are they?" I heard her sigh while Pluto just groaned. I opened my eyes again, letting loose a fresh wave of tears. Ruby lifted her hand to wipe the tears off my cheeks. "Nothin' I coul' do," She whispered. "Could only help you an' brother."

I stared at her, the words taking their time to sink in. She finished wrapping my arm as Pluto continued to stand in the doorway silently. I began to shake and choke on my sobs. Ruby looked devastated.

"Please, Lily! Yeh safe, yeh have brother. 'S okay!" She smiled hopefully.

I shook my head and continued to sob. My parents were gone. Taken away so quickly. So violently. We didn't always get along, but when we did, life was great. I really did love them and I knew they loved me. I never really made an effort to let them know that, though. Something I only now realized I would always regret.

I couldn't stop shaking, Ruby threw a worried glance at Pluto and then looked back at me. "We leave yeh..." she whispered and left the room with Pluto and closed the door to give me privacy. I knew that Pluto stood just outside the door, but I was glad they were human enough to leave me to mourn the death of my parents. I slid off the counter and slumped over on the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

After an hour of crying so hard that I started vomiting, I laid on the floor, curled up in a ball. I had been staring at the same spot on the wall for the last twenty minutes.

The long silence probably tipped them off that I was done, so Ruby and Big Mama came into the room to help me back to the bedroom. Big Mama picked me up and carried me to my bed, with significantly more effort than Pluto, and laid me down. I never stopped staring blankly. I could sense my brother still laying on the other bed. I guess he hadn't woken up yet. How was I going to tell him...

"Lily?" Big Mama quietly said. I didn't respond. I was fully aware of what was going on around me, but I felt comatose. I couldn't move or talk no matter how hard I tried.

"Imma cut these loose. Don't be tryin' nothin' stupid t'night. Goggle's keepin' watch, no way yeh'd make it outta this room unnoticed." She took my silence as agreement and stepped forward to cut the bonds on my ankles. "G'night, Lily," Ruby whispered as she followed her mother out of the room and shut the door.

I didn't sleep for a second that night.

XXXXX

I still had way too many damn questions. After some time to think in the silent room, I started to resent having been so cooperative with them. If I had been more aggressive with them, maybe I would have gotten more answers. But then again, maybe being nice would be just as useful. Besides, they were nice enough last night, but they seemed like the kind of people that could turn very nasty. Maybe I should play it safe.

I looked at the tiny window that was beginning to flood light into the room then glanced at my brother. It had been hours now and he still hadn't woken up, but his breathing was soft and even. It was soothing.

I decided to try to get up. It took a lot of effort before I could finally move. I hurt from the crash, but not moving for six hours straight didn't help either. Eventually, I made my way over to my brother's bed and sat on the edge.

I put my hand on his shoulder and sighed. _Lex...what are we going to do?_ I thought. Say we did escape. We didn't have anybody nearby to contact. The closest family was in Utah, but I didn't know how to contact them. I didn't even know where the hell we were.

Suddenly, Lex inhaled deeply. I gently shook his shoulder. "Lexis? Lex, are you awake?"

"Mmph," was the reply I received. "Oh lord, Lexis, are you okay? Can you talk to me?" I asked frantically. I desperately wanted to hear a familiar voice again. "Li...Lily?" he slowly mumbled.

Tears began to well up. "Yes, Lex, I'm right here." I squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Where are we? Where did they take us?" he asked, panicked, as he winced after trying to move his hand that was covered with gauze, under which were two broken fingers.

'They?' I thought. He sounded like he already knew who our captors were.

"How did you know about them? Were you awake after the crash?"

"Yeah...I saw them take mom and dad..." his voice trailed off.

"What?" I gasped. "What happened? Where did they take them?"

His eyes harbored much fear and pain. "I saw them drag their bodies out of the car, and..." his voice cracked, and I could tell he didn't want to go on, but I had to know. "What did they do with their bodies, Lex? I...I already know that they died. Just please tell me; I can't go on not knowing what happened to them." Lexis nodded.

"They were already gone by the time they were taken out of the car. These...people; they took their bodies...and cut them up." He whispered the last part.

I stared at him, shocked. "Why the hell would they want to hide the bodies? Do you know where they were disposed?"  
"Lily...they weren't interested in hiding evidence. They didn't want to dispose of the bodies." I just looked at him blankly, not sure what he was getting at.

"I watched one...he picked up an arm...and started eating it..."  
He shuddered and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I found myself staring at the wall again.

XXXXX

It was about 1 p.m. before someone knocked on the door.  
I jumped. Lex stayed still, not letting go of me. The person on the other side of the door entered after neither of us responded for a while.

It was someone I hadn't seen before. My body tensed at the sight of him. He appeared to be covered in burns and blisters and was wearing a giant neck brace from Hell.

"Mama wanted yeh to know she made san'wiches fer yeh..."  
He looked like he was uncomfortable talking to us. Neither myself or my brother responded.

He seemed to have expected this response and nodded. "She...she really wan's yeh to come ou'," he persisted. I looked over to my brother. He looked back at me and nodded. I really didn't want to talk to her, but now knowing what kind of people we were dealing with, I knew we should play along if we wanted to live long enough to at least attempt an escape.

We followed the man out to the hallway and down the stairs. Lex walked between the man and I; I could tell he was trying to be protective of me.  
I felt slightly comforted by that.

We found Big Mama sitting at a dining table that had a stack of sandwiches on it. She smiled gently up at us. "Come on in! Eat, ya'll must be starvin'!" She pushed the plate of sandwiches toward our end of the table. The man with the neck brace rolled his eyes and left us with Big Mama.

I grimaced and stared at the floor, trying not to think of what Lexis had told me this morning. Lexis took my hand and held it comfortingly as he stared her down, looking like he was trying to literally pierce her with his stare.

Her smile faded and she quietly said, "I know yeh mus' hate us. If it weren' fer us, yeh'd still hav' yer parents. We may seem barbaric to yeh ou'siders, bu' we still have our fam'ly values. I'd like yeh to think of us as yer fam'ly now, we take good care o' yeh."

My jaw dropped at her suggestion that we willingly stay with them and even call them family. It was disgusting. My brother spoke up before I could spout of some very offensive things that probably would have gotten us killed.

"I thought we were your prisoners. Is this really what you had in mind all along? Kill our parents, so that you could take their place and expect us to accept it?" He had spoken slowly and softly, but his voice was shaking. That could only mean that he was beyond furious.

She sighed, "Ruby ain't like us."

I scoffed, "You mean as in she's actually capable of acting human?"

"I mean she don't like how we live, an'-"

"And you do?" I cut her off, staring at her, dumbfounded.

She averted her gaze momentarily and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"No," she said quietly. "Bu' we do wha' we do to live. Maybe we grown too comfortable wit' tha killings and other things, 'cause we lived like this too long." She seemed to be saying the last part more to herself than us.

"Bu' like I said, Ruby's different. She has a thing fer the ou'siders. She don' like that we kill 'em."

I slowly nodded my head. I could tell from the first time I laid eyes on the brown eyed girl that she was a compassionate person. I honestly kind of liked the kid and wondered if I could trust her enough to let her in on any plan my brother and I could conjure up to escape. Maybe she could help.

Hell, if she didn't like it here all that much, maybe we could even take her with us.

Big Mama continued, "Or I guess she at leas' don' like tha' we usually torture 'em before killin' 'em. She sees no poin' to it. "

"Well of course there isn't any point to it other than for your own sick, sadistic pleasure!" Lexis exploded, his face growing red.

Big Mama almost looked ashamed. There was moment of awkward silence before she decided to speak. "Well," Big Mama sighed, "yer here now. Ruby chose fer Papa to save yeh two to keep her company. Papa's th' man o' the house an' Ruby's his lil' girl. She got him wrapped 'round her lil' finger. Stay wit' her an' Papa'll make sure none o' the others harm yeh."

My brother and I glanced at each other. I asked quietly, "How many of you are there, anyway?" voicing the one question I knew we both had in mind.

Big Mama smiled softly at us. "Well, there's me an Papa Jupiter, bu' yeh can jus' call us Mama an' Papa. Yeh already met Ruby an' Pluto. Cyst was th' one tha' brought yeh downstairs. Big Brain's a couple houses down, Cyst lives wit' him. An' then there are my boys, Lizard an' Goggle. They're ou' a lot. They help take care o' the hunts."

_Hunts, _I thought. _They call them hunts, not murders, like they're just wild game._ It made me sick.

"Actually, Goggle's th' one tha' watches fer cars on th' road, spots 'em 'n tells th' rest o' th' clan when they're comin'. When 'e said there were a young boy an' girl in th' car, tha's when Ruby started beggin' Papa to spare yeh two. Lucky, really, tha' Ruby jus' happened to have one o' th' walkie talkies. He brought yeh back quietly. When th' others found ou', though..." She ended it at that and grimaced. I had a feeling the "others" weren't too happy with us being here.

"Course t'night I'll have yeh meet th' whole fam'ly. There are others...in 'nother clan. Yeh run inta any o' them...they will kill yeh on the spot. Or worse..."

I'm not sure if we were supposed to hear that last part, she whispered it so softly. She looked at me sadly when she said it, though.

"So...what do we do, then? Just spend our lives doing whatever Ruby wants us to do?" I asked, annoyed. This whole thing seemed so stupid.

Why bother to spare us like she did? I understand that maybe she saw an opportunity to spare some blood, since she seemed to hate it so much, but it was selfish. I almost wished we had just died. What quality of life is this? To live simply to be a girl's playmates?

"It'd be best if yeh stayed in yer room fer now. Take these san'wiches wit' yeh; no sense in starvin' yerselves while yeh here." Mama stood up and picked up the platter and handed it to us.

I reluctantly took it but stayed where I was. "What...what's in these?" I asked, trying to keep myself from fainting. "Don' worry, hun. They're ham wit' lettuce an' cheese." She gave me a reassuring smile and I nodded, turning to head up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Lex and I finished about half a sandwich each. We just couldn't stomach any more than that. We knew they were at least kind enough to give us food other than other human beings, but just being in this whole situation made us lose our appetites.

Our parents were dead. We were being held captive by these mutant people out in the middle of fucking nowhere where no one would think to look for us. We couldn't think of a way to escape yet. Things were not looking good.

We sat on our respective beds in silence for a few minutes before I whispered, "So what do we do? This place is pretty well crawling with mutants, and they've all been living here long enough to have plans on what to do in any circumstance, I'm sure. Pluto is usually around, and I seriously wouldn't want to get caught by him. And then they have one that sits in the hills, watching anybody that comes through, even if we did make it out of here, he'd catch us for sure. They've got this place set up so that it's impossible to make it out alive..."

"Lily, we can't give up," Lex whispered back. We didn't know how sound proof these walls were.

"Maybe if we just pretend that things are fine and we do what they say, stay on their good side, maybe they'll let their guard down enough for us to get out." Lex wasn't a very upbeat person, but he knew how to stay positive when it mattered.

"You're right," I said. "Maybe that's the best way to go about it." He came over to my bed and sat down next to me. I sighed and put my arm around him. "So what are we going to do if...when we do get out of here?" I asked Lex.

He was quiet for a while before he answered. "You know, I've been wondering the same thing. It doesn't look good for us even if we do get out of here. We lived with mom and dad back home, neither of us had jobs. Be have hardly any money in the bank. I would say let's hitch hike back home, but let's face it; we couldn't pay bills to keep the house. And mom and dad have taken care of us so much over the last few years, I don't think we could make it on our own. We don't know how to do taxes or pay the bills. You can't even drive yet. I'm sure a lot of it we could figure out, but if anything goes wrong...we honestly wouldn't know what the fuck to do."

Okay, I guess he wasn't _that_ positive...

I stared silently at the floor. I hadn't realized until now just how much we relied on our parents. Sure, Lex and I helped around the house and mostly took care of ourselves, but our parents took care of all the important grown up stuff. I was still a kid at heart. I wasn't ready to grow up.

I had completed two years of college two years ago, graduating when I was 18. I had taken a special program where I could spend my last two years of high school in college, and I loved it. I loved meeting all sorts of new people and taking classes on subjects I hadn't even thought about and I wasn't a perfect student, but I did well enough in my classes and felt well accomplished because of it. But that was about as close to being an adult as I got.

My chest started to hurt as I realized...I knew nothing of living in the real world.

"Plus, you have to keep in mind the hell we're going to have to deal with when we come back without mom and dad," Lex continued. "We're both of legal age, at least, so we don't have to be put onto foster care or anything, but damn; police reports, investigations, interrogations, nothing but constant reminders of this whole nightmare are all that we have to look forward to." He laughed darkly, "It almost makes going back to the real world unappealing."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Startled, I asked, "Who is it?" A small voice came from the other side of the door. "Ruby," the voice said. I relaxed a little. I'd much rather it be her than any of the others.

"Come in," I said. She came in slowly, not looking either of us in the eye.

"I...I sorry," the brown eyed girl whimpered. I felt a little sorry for her. She genuinely seemed to care about us and she must feel awful knowing how miserable we were.

"It's okay, you couldn't save all of us, I understand," said Lex, unexpectedly. It was his first time meeting her, seeing as how he was unconscious last time I saw her. Yet he seemed to already know that she wasn't a threat. He knew that she was kind and caring, maybe from what Mama said about her earlier.

She still seemed to be a little upset, but a lot happier now that she knew we weren't mad at her. I patted the space on the bed next to me, opposite where Lex was sitting. She came over and sat a good distance from me, making sure not to touch me. She was so kind and shy, it made me wonder if she was really raised by these freaks.

I glanced down where her hands were resting in her lap to find that some of her fingers were fused together. Yes, she was certainly odd, but not terrifying like some of the others were, at least. I liked her, and something about her even reminded me of myself years ago.

"No offense, bu' yeh look like yeh need a shower." Ruby smiled timidly, addressing my brother and I. Lex and I look down at ourselves, then at each other and then laughed. It was true, I couldn't remember the last time either of us were this filthy.

"We got jus' one shower in th' house. You have to take turns," Ruby explained. Lex looked at me, signaling that I could take my shower first.

I left to make my way to the bathroom that I remembered Ruby cleaning my wounds in. I took a quick look around inside to see where everything was. It was a very small room with a claw foot bathtub and a cabinet in one of the corners. I opened the cabinet to find a small stack of towels and tons of medical supplies. I guess it made sense, they had to take care of themselves. There were no hospitals anywhere even close and even if there were, there's no way in hell they'd show their faces anywhere outside of these hills.

I quickly disrobed and jumped into the shower, eager to get clean. It being a hot day, I used cool water and it was tremendously refreshing. I grabbed a worn washcloth and lathered up some soap to try to scrub off all the sand and grime. It stung my cuts a little, but I didn't care, I was just happy to be getting clean. Funny how satisfying such small creature comforts were in situations like these.

After my shower, I reluctantly wriggled back into the same dirty clothes then went back to my room to let Lex know he could take his shower.

After he returned, the three of us had a good conversation over the next three hours. She told us all about their history and how things worked around here.

Apparently they were deformed due to warfare testing in the area decades ago. The radiation made everyone living close enough very sick. Those who lived to bear children, had children who were riddled with all sorts of different types of illnesses or malformations. They continued to live in this area, inbreeding or bringing in new people to have children with, continuing the line of mutants. Now the surviving mutants lived in secrecy.

Because they didn't want any one else to know about them, they had to obtain food in the least desirable of ways. They don't have any life outside of these hills, and they rely on the man at the gas station to supply them with food. The mutants made a deal with the man, Jeb, years ago; if he sent tourists down the road that leads only to the mutant's territory so that they can use the tourists for food, they would give Jeb any valuable belongings that were found in their cars. Jeb didn't like it, but it was the only way for him to make a living.

Ruby then told us more about her family. Mama and Papa were her real parents, and Lizard and Goggle were her older brothers, even though none of them looked anything alike. Their different mutations kept them from looking related at all.

Pluto was Ruby's cousin, but he preferred to live with Papa Jupiter rather than his own father. Ruby never said why, though, and I didn't want to press the issue. Ruby wasn't exactly sure how Big Brain and Cyst were related to her, but they treated Mama and Papa like their own parents all the same.

The young children, Venus and Mercury, were not related to any of them, but Mama took care of them like her own children. Ruby seemed a little uncomfortable while explaining that Mama adopted them after their mother died during child birth. I couldn't tell why she seemed upset, though. Again, I decided to just keep quiet and listen while the young girl completely opened up to us.

She went on to explain that Papa was the leader of the whole bunch of them and he usually had the final say in most matters. Mama and Papa were respected more than any of the other clan members.

Goggle was the one that kept watch over the hills and notified the others over walkie-talkies when there was new prey. Lizard used his spike strip to pop the tires of the unsuspecting victims and the two of them, plus Pluto and Papa Jupiter eventually took down the innocent family that was on their merry way to a family reunion or happy vacation. Ruby was visibly upset as she told us this part, a tear trickling down her cheek.

I slowly reached my hand over to her and rested it on the top of her shoulder. She winced a little, still afraid to touch us, but then relaxed after I gave her a gentle squeeze and a soft smile.

"It's okay, you weren't involved in any of this. You shouldn't feel guilty about something you have no power over," I told her as she wiped the tears away from her face and nodded.

"I...I tol' Papa to save yeh to be my frien's. I jus' needed a' excuse to keep yeh 'live."

"Thank you, Ruby. We do appreciate it...it's just going to take a lot of time to get used to all this. We don't like being here, but I want you to know we're not mad at you and I do appreciate you being so open and honest with us," I informed her and Lexis nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, there was the loud slam of a door and shouting from downstairs, then the distinct sound of a chair being kicked over.

"No' a single one t'day! I betcha that damn bastard's been telling 'em not to come down 'ere!" The voice was unfamiliar and frightening.

Mama barked back only slightly less loudly at the new voice, "Lizar'! Shu' the hell up, yer scarin' th' chil'ren!"

For people who insisted on how important their family values were, they didn't seem to get along well. But then maybe this was just normal for them. In that case, I truly did not wish to see them angry...

Ruby stood up from the bed. "They all home, time to meet 'em all," she said anxiously. This was her family and even she was nervous. I felt downright sick to my stomach, and my brother looked like how I felt. "Right," was all I could say without my voice quivering.

XXXXX

The three of us headed down the stairs, Ruby at the front, Lexis behind her, and myself behind Lexis. I grabbed his arm as soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Ruby led us into the living room where the whole family was, staring at us like we were the mutants.

The moonlight that flooded through the window behind the group made them seem even more menacing for some reason. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to stop shaking.

Mama stood up and smiled, bouncing a little girl with a mass under the side of her face, on her hip. "Well, Lily, Lex...this is th' fam'ly," she said, clearly apprehensive. It looked as if like she was starting to warm up to the idea of my brother and I being a part of the family; as if she just hoped that everyone would get along.

I silently nodded my head, not making eye contact with any of them. My brother didn't even respond at all. I glanced at his face and was a bit surprised at what I saw. I knew we were both nervous and maybe even a little scared, but to see that the color had entirely left his face worried me. His jaw was clenched tight and his knuckles had become as white as his face. Before I could ask if he was okay, Mama cleared her throat.

"So yeh both already know Ruby, o' course. An' Lily's met our Pluto." Pluto grinned widely and waved at us. Lexis growled deeply at Pluto's introduction, so that I felt the vibrations surge through him, rather than heard it. Before I could ask about it, Mama continued.

She pointed to a man wearing a black bowler hat with an almost snake like face. He had no nose, just two slits where his nostrils were, and thin lips that were the same color as the rest of his skin. He was dressed in a white long sleeve shirt and black slacks coated in fine orange sand. The suspenders and plain black bowler hat he wore seemed fitting for him, I couldn't explain why.

"Tha' one's Goggle. He's my oldest," Mama said nervously, trying to keep things flowing, since no one else was speaking up. Goggle stared at us silently for a moment before shrugging and tipping his hat at us subtly.

"An' tha' one's Lizard. He's my middle child." The man she had her finger pointed at now half rolled his eyes and kicked the floor, seemingly annoyed that his mother had just referred to him as a child. I almost had to suppress a smile.

So this was Lizard. I had glimpsed him the day before, when I was waking up from being unconscious after the crash. He was the one that I made a mental note to avoid at all costs. He was the man with the ragged upper lip and shaggy, sandy colored hair. His clothes all looked old and worn and he was wearing the same burnt orange vest that I had seen him in before. He even had that same evil looking spike strip over his shoulder that appeared to be covered in blood. His appearance caused a tiny shiver to run up my spine.

But...his eyes. Now that I had a chance to get a better look at him, his eyes were a brilliant ice blue. They looked so intense as they stared at me, as if they were trying to understand just what I was, exactly. Actually, given the fact that they were the only part of him that seemed to show any signs of emotion other than anger and pure hatred, if I blocked the rest of him out, his eyes made him look quite human. Maybe even-

I physically jumped just slight enough to snap myself out of my thoughts and focus on Mama instead.

Papa decided to pitch in and introduced us to the next mutant.

"This 'un 'ere is Big Brain. He usually don' visit us, but Cyst brought him 'ere jus' fer this occasion." The man called Big Brain was sitting in a wheelchair with his head laid back, wearing nothing but a pair of plain, ragged shorts. His head was grossly oversized and most of it sagged over the top of the back rest. He had a nasty sneer plastered across his face and I knew right off that I wasn't going to like him at all.

I knew being crippled, he wouldn't pose much of a threat, but he looked like someone who thought he was above talking to the likes of myself and Lexis.

"Yes, if I had a...choice, I wouldn'...be here...right now," Big Brain wheezed. He seemed to have trouble breathing, but I didn't feel sorry for him one bit. "I have no time...for socializing...with _dinner_,_"_ he spat.

I felt Lexis tense up next to me and I merely glared at him. No, I was certainly not going to like this man one bit...

Papa glared at the mutant in the wheelchair, obviously not pleased with Big Brain's refusal to accept us.

"Now, Big Brain, they part o' th' fam'ly now. I know yeh don' like it; it's gonna be hard fer all o' us to get used to, bu' try to at leas' make 'em feel comfortable, will yeh?" said Mama, her attitude defensive. Yes, she was definitely warming up to the idea of us as her children.

Big Brain said nothing, but continued to sneer at my brother and I. Mama sighed and continued. "These lil' 'uns are Venus," she bounced the girl on her hip, "an' Mercury," she pointed to the boy sitting on the couch. "My babies. Well, I didn' have 'em, but I been takin' care o' 'em since they was born." She smiled as she coddled the one on her hip. The boy sitting on the couch smiled at me.

He was like nothing I had seen before. The rest of the family, other than Mama and Papa, had obvious deformities that I had seen or at least heard of before. But this boy had blue skin. I really couldn't figure that one out. But there he was, seemingly healthy in every way, albeit a little skinny; but blue.

I smiled kindly back at him before he took my staring personally. Then I turned back to Mama and Papa and cleared my throat before asking them, "So we had heard there are others here, but they're not part of your family? Who are they, then?"

Mama looked like she had been hoping I wouldn't bring that up, but Papa answered, "E'rybody in these hills are related, but we live in diff'rent clans. This is ev'ry one in our clan. Th' others yer askin' 'bout are in Hades' clan. They...run thin's diff'rently then we do. They keep all th' women they catch an' use 'em fer breedin', to continue th' line o' mutants."

I suddenly felt sick again. He made it sound like some endangered species breeding program. I felt so sorry for the women trapped with this other clan, being forced to...I shuddered. Well, I suppose it was a small mercy that Papa Jupiter's clan found us before Hades' clan. I felt Lexis squeeze my hand so hard that it hurt, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

I swallowed thickly and nodded, having heard all I wanted to. So now Lex and I knew all the consequences of us getting caught if we tried to escape. Either this clan would kill us and probably end up eating us, or the other clan would catch us and kill and eat my brother and trap me with them and use me for their sick little breeding program. I honestly hoped that if we did get caught, it would be by someone familiar...


	6. Chapter 6

AN ~ Okay, so I have an excuse. My bf's been moving and I've been terribly busy helping him with all that. Also, I have already had the next eight or so chapters written for a while now, but I've decided to go back and rewrite parts of it before continuing along in the story. So that is why this post is about four weeks late. D:

Major thanks to those who have commented on my story so far, although more reviews would be fantastic. A lot of people have favorited my story but I've only received reviews from three different people. This makes me sad.

Reviews keep me going, and it's hard to tell if I'm doing a good job or not if I have very little feedback. :(

So please, if you can spare a minute, I'd love you forever if you could critique my work.

Alright, so I've made you all wait long enough for this, I'm going to shut up now.

Chapter 6

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The next day, I woke to Lexis whimpering and crying in his sleep. What a way to start the day...

I went over to his bedside to wake him from whatever nightmare he was having to bring him to the one we were living. After a few moments of shaking him by the shoulders, he sat up, gasping for breath and wiping the beaded sweat from his forehead and the tears from his cheeks.

"You okay, sir?" I asked him, hoping to break him out of whatever he was feeling at the moment. I called Lexis 'sir' and he called me 'ma'am' sometimes, as sort of a silly inside joke. It was usually used sarcastically, but sometimes we would say it just to ease tension or to make the other one smile when they seemed in need of it.

He just shook his head and hunched over, putting his head between his knees. I soothingly ran my hand through his short silky brown hair. "Do you want to talk about it?" I whispered. He shook his head again in silence.

I decided to let it go and just try to get his mind off of it. It was odd, he was protective of people when they were hurt, but I tended to want to comfort or cheer people up when they were distraught. I inhaled deeply then pounced on his bed and started jumping up and down, the springs threatening to explode out of the mattress.

"Come on, get out of bed. Let's do something!" I told him, my voice wavering each time my feet hit the mattress. He stared up at me, then shook his head and snorted. "You know, the sun's up, aren't you supposed to be hiding in the closet or something?" he replied sarcastically.

"Hell no, sir! Contrary to popular belief, I do not instantly combust the moment the sun's rays hit me, although I will peel a bit after prolonged exposure," I replied with a tone of voice as though I were stating a scientific fact. That finally got me the smile I was looking for. I smiled back, victorious, and bent down to grab his hands and pull him up to jump on the bed with me. He stood up reluctantly and gently bounced next to me.

"Come on, is that the best you can do?" I growled like a drill sergeant. He poked my belly and bounced higher. I stuck my tongue out and poked his sides quickly, which was his one weak spot. He squirmed and finally got off the bed, with a smile on his face. "Okay, you win," he said, his depressed mood finally overcome by my superior tickle skills.

I got off the bed, to stand next to him, "You know you didn't stand a chance," I laughed. I hugged him and continued a little more seriously, "We both know that I'm going to be the moral support while we're here. So if you don't want frequent visits from the tickle spider, I suggest you try not to be a total mopey pants."

I was quiet for a moment before I continued. "I really think the only way we're going to stay sane while we're here is to try to not let ourselves be overcome with depression and fear. Let's just try to act the same as we do at home, okay?"

He hugged me back tightly and picked me up and spun me around. "I know, Lily. And thanks for that; if you were like me, we'd both just die of loneliness and despair," he said with a soft smile on his face. "I'm glad that I at least still have you. I don't think I would have even made it through the first day without you," he said, his tone relieved, but his face somber.

I laughed humorlessly, "Yeah, same here. When they first brought you in, I thought you were...well, I didn't know what to expect. I don't know what I would have done. I've already lost so much. If I were all alone, I don't know if I would have made it, either."

I sighed deeply and tried to rid myself of those thoughts. "Okay, you ready to go out? I know this room feels like the only safe place to be, but it sounds like we're protected by the leaders of this clan. I'm sure most of them want to slit out throats and drink our blood, but I don't think they'll try anything. So let's go try to find Ruby."

He inhaled deeply, staring anxiously at the door separating us from the monsters outside. "I...yeah, I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be. I just really don't want to run into most of them again."

"I know, but we really have to try to get them to like us, it may give us the best possible chance of escaping," I whispered. I wasn't going to chance any of them knowing our intentions. Not even Ruby, yet.

Lexis nodded and followed me closely out the door.

I'm not sure why we slinked through the house so quietly, as if we didn't want to be caught. I suppose it just seemed like the right thing to do. Like how some people whisper when it's quiet even if they have no reason to.

As we approached the living room that we had met the rest of the family in the night before, we caught sight of Mama sitting in a rocking chair in the living room, playing with Venus. As soon as the little girl noticed us, her face lit up.

"Lily, Lex, will you play with us?" she asked, surprisingly politely.

I smiled shyly back at that innocent face, "Sorry, but we were looking for Ruby. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"

The child promptly sucked in her lips and shook her head vigorously. Mama looked at me and smiled gently. "She ou' with Mercury at th' swing set ou'side. Jus' go ou' th' front door an' it'll be right past th' porch."

I smiled and nodded a silent thanks. I turned to move on toward the door, but stopped when I noticed that Lexis hadn't moved. I turned again to face him. Just as I was about to ask what was wrong, it became clear. His face was pale and his eyes were glued to the window just past Mama and Venus. On the other side of the window, was Pluto, meandering about seemingly aimlessly. Upon watching him a bit longer, it became apparent that he was intently following a butterfly that was flitting about. He wasn't looking to capture it, he just...followed it.

I remembered that Lex had reacted strangely upon meeting Pluto in the living room. Maybe now was a good time to ask about it.

"Lex, what's wrong?" I whispered softly, watching his face change from pure terror to disgust and fury.

"It's him," was the only answer I received.

I thought on that for a moment before realizing- Pluto must have been the one Lex saw devouring the bodies from our crash before he was knocked out.

He's such an innocent creature, I thought. How on earth can this be the same man that Lexis saw take a bite out of the bloody raw flesh of our parents?

I shook my head, dispelling any thoughts of the attack from my mind. As much as my heart stopped any time I let my guard down and began to think about mom and dad, I was not going to fall in front of Lexis. We both knew that without someone else supporting him, there was no way he could go on. Funny how he always insisted that he be the strong one, when it seemed like now I was the one keeping us going. I had to remain sturdy and keep our morale up for both our sakes.

I came back to his side and gently tugged on his sleeve. "Lex, it's okay. He was just doing what he was taught to do. Just look at him, I really don't think violence is in his nature," I whispered gently to my brother, trying to soothe his anger. "I understand why you might be angry at him, when that was your first impression of him, but please don't be afraid of him. I've seen that he can be very sweet. He took good care of me when you were passed out. Hate what happened, but please don't hate him."

I rested my chin on his shoulder and pouted, directing all my sad puppy dog beams toward him. He glanced over and caught sight of my pathetic face and inhaled deeply rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright," he sighed as he swatted me away.

I nodded my head victoriously and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the front door as he kept his gaze on the giant outside the window until he was no longer in sight.

The swing set was very easy to find as it was, as Mama had said, just in the front yard. Ruby's face lit up as she saw us, "I didn' wanna bother yeh two; figured yeh were still sleepin'."

"Nope, although we haven't eaten yet," I told her, after quickly smiling and waving to the little blue boy on the other swing.

Lexis was peering around frequently, to see if Pluto was making his way toward us.

"I havn't either; I make somethin' fer the three o' us," Ruby said, dismounting her swing and leading us back into the house.

Lex seemed only slightly less on edge once we were inside and took a seat at the dining table by the kitchen. I helped Ruby make omelets and bacon and was pleased to find a decent amount of real food in the fridge and the cabinets. I suppose it made sense; they may have been different in many ways, but they were still humans. Humans can't survive off of meat alone.

After ruining Lex's omelet by tearing it in half after trying to flip it over, Ruby took over for me, while I was in charge of watching over the bacon. I was already beginning to worry that with me not even able to properly make a damn omelet, would they find keeping me more trouble than it's worth? Dismembering an omelet was certainly not the most incompetent of things I was capable of. The genuine smile Ruby flashed me promptly after switching spots immediately erased any troublesome thoughts from my mind long enough for me to truly be thankful to have survived.


	7. Chapter 7

AN ~ Hooray! I think I have done all the editing I need for this chapter, so I figured I could post it now.

Also, major thanks to sandradee27 for the lovely review. It totally made my day. :{D In response to your comment about more Lily/Lizard stuff soon, I'm trying to not rush it, cause I think that it makes it seem pretty unrealistic. But you won't have to wait too much longer. :)

Anyway, on to the next chapter! Weeeee!

XXXXX

Chapter 7

Both Lex and I seemed to feel at ease around Ruby and though I was determined to not let any of the clan members intimidate me, it was certainly saying something for Lex. I had actually caught him checking his shaggy dark brown locks for gray hairs in a mirror once, when he thought no one was looking. My poor baby brother had kept in fair spirits, thanks to my persistent uplifting remarks, but I could practically see his mind fraying more and more every passing minute.

When it was just Ruby, Lex, and I, though, he actually seemed to enjoy himself a little and dropped his guard enough to stop glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.

After breakfast, we spent some time in the television room. They had one TV, and it was very small, played in black and white, and only had about four channels, but it was nice. It was just so...normal. We watched a courtroom show, which I normally found quite boring, but I enjoyed it immensely. The three of us even had fun watching it to the point of rooting for one side or the other, and shouted at the screen every time the antagonist came on screen.

It was strange that a show depicting other people's troubles was actually a welcome break from reality. We weren't what anyone could call "happy" and were still flooded with emotions from the recent death of our parents, but we weren't sobbing our eyes out, which was nice.

Then Cyst casually walked into the room, the front of his shirt spattered with fresh blood layered over old stains.

The room instantly became silent, save the television, which very quickly became just a static background noise. The smiles that were once on our faces died and I was sure that that little sparkle of light I had seen growing in Lex's eyes had been snuffed out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brother almost shrink into the corner of the room, trying to get as far away from the bald, blood drenched man as he could.

Ruby looked a little sad, but remained entirely calm. The only person she ever seemed remotely tense around was her brother, Lizard.

I stayed where I was, and tried to look like I wasn't disconcerted by his presence, but I was certainly panicking on the inside. Had there been another poor, innocent family that had been slaughtered just as brutally as my parents? Just the thought of it broke my heart, but I kept my cool.

Seemingly unaware of the effect his presence had on the three of us, Cyst meandered over to a cabinet in the room and grabbed something then turned to leave just as suddenly as he had come. Before he could exit the room, though, my mouth opened before I could think and I asked, "What's going on?"

The man turned around to face me, unable to turn just his head due to the massive neck brace. He looked as surprised that I had spoken to him as I felt.

There was a long pause in which he appeared to be thinking quite thoroughly about how to answer. Then he spoke, not making eye contact with Lex or I. "Jus'...takin' care o' yer parents..." he said almost cryptically. I felt a bit sick after he answered my stupid question, but I felt like there was more to it than he was letting on.

He glanced up at me with a look that said maybe let out more than he should have, then looked back at his feet, nodded his head what little he could and turned back to the door and swiftly left us to absorb what he meant by 'taking care of our parents.'

XXXXX

After watching a bit more television, we accepted that we just weren't going to go back to having fun like we were earlier, so we made our way downstairs. Upon reaching the living room, a thought struck my mind.

"Hey, Ruby, how about we play a game?" I inquired with a nudge.

She shrugged her petite shoulders and looked up at me with big eyes. "Wha' yeh wanna play?" she asked, her question directed at both Lex and I. Lex didn't look to be in the mood for playing games, but I didn't care. It was officially my job to keep his mind in a better place.

"How about charades?" I asked, thinking back on all the times Lexis and I had had fun playing charades with our friends. We always came up with the most ridiculous things, like Darth Vader gardening, or a clown riding a lawnmower. Just remembering my friend Shelby trying to act out the latter brought a smirk to my face.

"Ch...charades?" Ruby stuttered, having a difficult time pronouncing the word.

"Yeah, haven't you played that before?" I asked her, surprised she didn't know what it was.

"Nah," she replied, looking like she had let me down, or something.

"That's fine, don't worry about it," I said with a smile. "It's real easy; you choose something you want to act out and then the others try to guess what you have in mind without you saying anything."

She seemed a little apprehensive, at first. After Lex and I had given her a few examples, though, her brown eyes started to sparkle and she seemed more eager to play.

As I was trying to act out a bear in a dress, I was having a bit of trouble acting out the dress part. So I decided to act like I was twirling a dress and spun around. I nearly fell over, however when I caught sight of a blond haired man with soft blue eyes watching me from around a corner.

Time seemed to slow down and our gaze remained locked for what seemed like minutes but was only seconds, before his eyes opened wide and he grimaced and went back behind the corner.

I couldn't see him anymore, but I could only imagine the awkward look on his face at having been caught showing any interest in our childish game. When I initially caught sight of him, he actually looked peaceful. The way the corners of his lips were upturned ever so slightly, he seemed to be enjoying the lighthearted silliness of the game. But that scowl after he noticed I had seen him...maybe he just didn't want me thinking that he was interested in what we were doing.

"Don' worry, he spies on people all th' time, jus' cause he knows he good at it," Ruby said, reassuringly.

"I wasn' spy'in on yeh dumb asses, yeh jus' stop gigglin' so damn loud, an' I won' have ta come an beat yer asses!" Lizard shouted angrily from the other room.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "If yeh not spyin' then why yeh hidin' an' listenin' wha' we sayin'?"

There was a long pause, in which I had to smother a smirk. He was most certainly busted, and he knew it.

"Well- well it ain't mah fault yer all so damn loud! Bet even Ma coul' hear yer annoyin' ass voices from all th' way upstairs. Dumb shits..."

Just then, Mama yelled from the TV room upstairs, "Lizard? 'S tha' yeh yellin' downstairs? I don' care wha' yer bitchin' 'bout, jus' shut th' hell up!"

I couldn't help it this time. I snorted and Ruby and Lex began snickering shortly after me. The angry stomping of dusty boots and muttered curses could be heard all the way out the back door.

No sooner had Lizard left the house, than Papa entered though the front door with two familiar suitcases in his arms. One belonged to me and the other was Lex's.

"I believe these 'r yers," he said simply, setting them down by me.

"Oh yes, thank you," I replied, a little surprised that he had gone all the way to the wreckage to get these for us.

"Well, no sense in just leavin' 'em in th' crater." He shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"What crater?" Lex asked quietly.

"Where we keep th' cars. Can' jus' leave 'em on th' road, now, can we? People won' come if they see a bunch o' crashed cars sittin' 'round." Papa ran his bony fingers over the top on his head and through his mess of black and gray hair.

Lexis nodded numbly and then looked down to scrutinize his worn shoes.

I thanked Papa again and took our suitcases up to our room. I sorted through my clothes, eager to get something less...filthy on. A frown grew on my face as I started to realize the clothes I had brought. They certainly weren't what I'd wear in a place where I was in very serious danger of being taken as a prisoner by the other clan. Just the idea of it made me start to feel sick.

I knew that I was protected here, but if in any case I were to get into the hands of Hades' clan...I shuddered at the thought. Then again, I suppose that any female found out here was in danger of being violated in the worst ways. I just didn't want to make the chances of that any greater than they need to be.

When I was planning my outfits for this trip, I prepared only for warm weather, of course, but did I really have to bring so many low cut tops and short shorts and skirts? It all seemed so normal back home, but seeing it all in a new light, I was going to need to seriously reconsider my wardrobe choices when I got back home. Maybe mom really was right all along…

Eventually, I decided on a small black bodice that was laced up the front and showed only a little of my midriff and a pair of black shorts decorated with patches of my favorite cartoon characters, band names, and symbols. I closed the door, as uncomfortable as ever that our door was the only one in the house that didn't have a lock, and changed into the new clothes and I felt ten times better. The showers felt heavenly, but getting back into the same grimy clothes afterward had always made the whole thing seem like a waste.

I figured now was as good a time as any to tend to my many cuts and scratches. I headed down the hall to where the bathroom was and reapplied antiseptic to all the major wounds.

I was surprised that with the limited supplies here, we were doing pretty well. My cuts were all nice and clean and even Lex's broken fingers were healing up pretty quickly.

After deciding I was sufficiently sanitized, I exited the bathroom only to promptly collide with Pluto. He, being comparable to a brick wall, knocked me right over and I fell on my ass with a sharp thud.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said quickly, hoping he would be just as kind as he seemed to be. He was.

"S'rry, Lily," he boomed, looking quite concerned and bending over to put me upright again. Once I was back on my feet, he brushed me off and smiled apologetically.

"No, it's, uh, it's fine," I told him, smiling. "So did you ever catch that butterfly?"

He looked a little confused for a moment, before catching what I was referring to. "No. No catch. Jus' look."

"Oh, why's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Don' wan'...hurt it," he said slowly as if he were telling me something very important that I should remember.

I stood there with my mouth slightly agape, watching this giant mutant before me with utmost amazement. He truly valued life. I didn't know how or why, but he did and it was incredible. I knew he had the ability to become quite a killing machine from the stories Ruby had told me- but I really couldn't believe it.

I shook my head, snapping out of my thoughts and smiled and patted him on the shoulder as I started to head back off to where Lex and Ruby were sitting downstairs. But as I was walking, my brain turned back on and I couldn't help but start to realize that maybe these mutants were a little more human than I've given them credit for. They may not be terribly intelligent, but they're not dumb. That will be an important fact to remember while planning our escape…


	8. Chapter 8

AN ~ I want to give a huge thanks to the lovely Mr. Jasama000! Your review made me smile like this :D

And thanks again to my loyal reviewer, kaaayyytteee. Nice to know someone likes this fic enough to be on top of every chapter. :3

Alright, so this is one of my more lengthy chapters, enjoy!

**Chapter 8**

Three weeks had passed since meeting the whole clan. Lexis had stopped hiding every time Pluto was within sight, and the rest of the clan had seemed to have grown accustomed to having us around. They had mostly caught on to a lot of our slang terms and had stopped making fun of our unusual way of doing things. For a while, Papa wouldn't stop laughing at us every time we said "excuse me" after accidentally bumping into someone else.

We had spent a majority of our time in our room, occasionally coming out to eat or chat with some of the clan members. Ruby spent a lot of time with us in our room, telling stories of other families that almost made it out alive, but were unsuccessful.

She had tried helping a family that she seemed to particularly care for about a year ago, but that family was destroyed in the end, just like all the others. She said that one family was the closest to victory anybody had ever been, and Ruby would never forget them. She even kept the red hoodie that she had taken from a boy from that family, to remember them by.

When she wasn't telling us horror stories that she had lived, she was asking questions about life outside these hills. A lot of it she couldn't understand. Lex and I grew up in Seattle; our life was pretty much the opposite of hers. But we explained it the best we could.

As we talked about life at home, I began to realize just how frivolously I lived. Compared to how these people lived, my life sounded almost alien. Their only source of entertainment was a few channels on their black and white 36-inch screen television. Before we came here, I had the ability to be bored in a house with a huge LCD screen tv, more art supplies than I could even use in a year, my beautiful 12 megapixel D-SLR (which I just realized was probably smashed to pieces in the wreckage of our car), over one hundred CDs, a bookshelf full of books, and more gaming consoles and games than I care to admit.

I almost felt ashamed after realizing this. I certainly didn't need to live that way; I was a pretty flexible person, able to get along in pretty much any living situation. Yet often times, I would opt to just sit in my room and whine about how there was nothing to do, not realizing how lucky I was at how much stuff I had available. I decided that after we escaped here, I would never take my life in the normal world from granted ever again.

Once I realized that Lex had stopped talking, I briefly shook my head then continued where he left off, trying to describe the culture and the busy daily life of so many Seattleites. Lex enlightened her on the terrors of public school and I told her all about the museums and parks and our obsession with coffee. We both told stories of trips to the beach and our many experiences trekking through the forests.

Telling her about my friends was probably the hardest part. Of course I missed my family and my life back home, but the thought of never seeing my friends again broke my heart. I hated leaving them like this. I knew they would be absolutely distraught when my family doesn't show up when we're scheduled to be back from our trip. I would find a way to contact them someday, but for now, I couldn't take any risks. Gaining their trust and escaping came first and foremost.

The part she liked most about our life in Seattle, though, was that there were a lot of huge shopping centers around. They had a television set here, with only a few channels, but she had seen enough to admire many of the outfits of the women she had observed on TV.

"I wish I coul' have pretty dresses...like on TV," she said sadly. "I wish I could be pretty..." she quietly mumbled as an afterthought. Then she cheered up a little and said, "I like yer clothes, Lily. Yeh look so pretty in 'em." I felt sad for her, a little. Despite her lopsided face, she was a pretty girl.

"Thanks, Ruby, but you don't need any fancy clothes. You're beautiful just the way you are. And besides, with the work you do here, they'd just get dirty, right? Now I don't wanna hear any more about how you're not pretty just because you don't have nice dresses, alright?" A soft blush came across the tops of her cheeks. "Kay, Lily," she replied, smiling.

Here was this little mutated girl, brought up in these terrible conditions, taught that it's okay to kill and eat people, and she was still just a typical young teenage girl.

"How about this?" I decided it was the least I could do to make her happy. "I'll let you wear any of my stuff that you want, just please ask first," I proposed to her. The smile that followed seemed to be three sizes too large for her petite face. "Really?" she squealed excitedly. I laughed and nodded my head. "Of course, how about you pick something out right now?"

She ran over to my suitcase, and started sorting through my clothes.

Lexis just rolled his eyes and said, "Girls..."

He had been sitting on his bed for the last half hour, doodling on a piece of paper he found downstairs.

"You, sir, are just jealous that I have crazy awesome clothes and you don't," I laughed. He stared at me and slowly raised his hand to tug on the shirt he was wearing and gave me a look as if to say, "Uh, yeah, do you have a Zelda: Ocarina of Time tee? That's right, didn't think so."

I stuck my tongue out at him and turned around to find Ruby questioningly holding up one of my pairs of underwear. It was a pair of green plaid boy shorts, but had four bikini strings on the sides connecting the material, and she looked utterly perplexed.

"Lily, wha' this?" she said, turning it in her hands, trying to figure out where it goes. I laughed and walked over her to take it from her. "It's just underwear. I doubt you'd want to wear any of my undergarments, so you can just put those aside."

I threw them in a corner of the room and bent over the suitcase to gather the rest of my undergarments so I could set them all in the corner, to make things easier for her.

"Well I wa' beginnin' to worry yeh would be gettin' sick o' the inside o' this dingy lil' room, but I'm startin' to appreciate th' view myself."

I turned quickly, straightening back up, to find Lizard standing in the doorway, watching me. The man was annoyingly light on his feet.

I blushed softly and Lex glared at him, snorting, "Can't you go bother someone else?" Ruby went back to looking through my suitcase, ignoring her brother.

Lizard sneered at Lex, "Mama sen' me up here to tell th' girl to help 'er get dinner ready." I felt my cheeks grow redder at that statement, but out of anger, this time.

"I have a name, you know." I said, hotly.

"Thi' ain't no place fer a girl like yeh. Yeh won' even last long 'nough fer me to bother rememberin' yer name," he laughed.

It was a few moments before I realized that my hands had balled up into fists on their own and I felt a stinging pain in my palms where my nails had dug into.

"What makes you think I couldn't make it out here?" I asked Lizard, thoroughly annoyed at this point. His smirk suggested that he was enjoying that he had gotten this rise out of me.

"Yer an ou'sider _an' _a woman. Do th' math," he said, as he turned out of the doorway and left.

I stood there with my mouth hanging open for a bit, before Lex said sarcastically, "Well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you supposed to be helping Mama make us sammiches?"

I threw a pillow at his head while he laughed and didn't even bother to duck, knowing he deserved it. Ruby then turned toward me, holding up my garter belt, "Lily, wha' this?"

XXXXX

"So, is Lizard always this...weird?" I asked Mama as I helped her cut up vegetables for a beef stew she was making just for Lex and I.

The family was kind enough to steal enough food from the gas station man, Jeb, to keep Lex and I decently well fed, since they knew we would never eat human meat...if you can consider stealing an act of kindness. Well, I'm not sure it's stealing, exactly. It was part of the agreement the mutants had made with Jeb, but the man certainly didn't like it when they showed up with their various weapons and raided the shelves.

"I mean, I've known you guys for a few weeks, and I've gotten used to all of you and all of you have gotten used to Lex and I...except for Lizard. Like, I'll be playing on the swing set outside and I'll look up and find him standing across the yard, watching me. And then he'll go back to whatever he was doing, like nothing ever happened. But right when I look at him, he almost looks...perplexed. I really don't know what to make of it."

Mama gathered up the carrots she just cut up and threw them into the pot on the stove. I couldn't read her expression, she almost looked like she wasn't even paying attention.

"Well, Lizard ain't one to show wha' he's thinkin' or feelin'. Even we don' know wha' he's thinkin' most o' th' time. Bu' bein' his ma, I do have a talen' fer knowing how he's feelin'." Mama smiled and winked at me before continuing. "I think yeh make him feel confused. Yeh an' Lex are gettin' along wit' the fam'ly better than some o' us expected. But bein' a woman, he expected yeh to be weak. I think he ain't sure wha' to make o' yeh, now."

She looked at me, searching for a reaction in me. I simply nodded my head and said, "I guess that makes sense." I threw in the last of my diced vegetables and she covered the pot with a lid.

Goggle came into the kitchen and tipped his bowler hat at me before continuing on to grab a beer from the fridge. I smiled softly in response and asked him why I hadn't seen him around much lately.

""S been a while 'fore anyone come through 'ere. Gotta be out on duty, can' miss anyone tha' may come though. Actually, was jus' on my way back out," the watcher explained, popping the bottle cap off on the corner of the counter. He took a sip and tipped his hat at me again and I waved goodbye to him.

It's too bad, he was actually kind of a nice guy, albeit very soft spoken. I would have liked to get to know him better.

I hopped up to sit on the counter by the stove before I decided to ask her another question. "So why does he think so little of women? You and Ruby are good, hard workers and nice people. Why would he think otherwise?"

Mama shook her head and immediately replied, "He don' think all women are bad. It's jus' that so many o' the ones tha' come through here are so scared an' don' fight to live like most o' th' men do, he expects all ou'sider women are weak. He respects me as much as he can respect anyone, bu' he don't have no respect fer women tha' come through here. 'E of'en mistreats 'em..." Her voice trailed off at the end.

"What do you mean? What does he do?" I pressed, feeling I had the right to know more about someone I was now living with. If he was any danger to me, I wanted to know.

"Please don' hate 'im fer it; I wan' yeh an' yer brother to get along wit' the whole clan. Bu' on the rare occasion a nice lookin' girl come through 'ere, Lizar' migh' rape 'em. He don' see no reason not to use 'em when they jus' gonna be dead soon, anyway." Mama spoke slowly, watching me for my reaction. I could tell she was anxious.

I honestly wasn't as upset to hear this news as I thought I would be. I mean these people viciously murdered whole families and ate human flesh. I couldn't really expect them to be courteous enough to respect women, could I? I hunched forward and twirled the ring on my left hand.

Mama seemed worried. "Yeh okay, Lily?"

I glanced up at her quickly and replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Don't worry, I really don't think I hate him any more than I already did." I flashed a quick grin, as she chuckled.

"He can be quite a han'ful sometimes. I don' blame yeh one bit, hun."

XXXXX

Lex and I finished off our bowls of stew in the living room, while Ruby sat by me, playing with the edge of a black tee shirt with an intricate electric blue cross on the front. I don't know why that shirt seemed to stand out to her so much, but that was the one from my suitcase that she wanted to wear today more than anything else.

Pluto played with Venus and Mercury on the floor. Pluto was such a sweetheart, I loved watching him, especially when he was with the children. Poor guy was pretty severely retarded. He was not one to be messed with, when angry, but I had a feeling that Papa just kind of used Pluto for their hunts because he was so big and powerful and easily manipulated. If he wasn't told to do those things, I bet he wouldn't take any part in it. Unlike Lizard who did it for the sport.

Ah, Lizard. That man had been confusing the hell out of me for the past three weeks, and even though Mama had talked to me about it, I still had no idea why he made such an effort to avoid me. When he wasn't avoiding me, he was either watching me intently like he expected me to turn into a unicorn when I thought no one was looking, or talking to me like he wanted nothing more than for me to leave.

Being the type of person who likes to know what's going on in everyone's head, I felt like my brain was going to implode and explode at the same time. He was a puzzle that needed to be solved...

Pluto made a silly face and the children laughed hysterically. "Again! Again!" they shouted, smiles spread all the way across their faces. Pluto bellowed a childish giggle and made another face. Their screams of laugher made Lex, Ruby, and I laugh, too.

This family really isn't all bad, I thought. I don't agree with their life style at all, but as people...I could see the good in most of them, just below their rough exteriors.

Lex took my bowl for me and brought the dishes to the kitchen to clean them. Mama jokingly told us shortly after we arrived here, that we'd have to help around the house, just like the rest of the clan or else she'd set Lizard after us. We all laughed at it, but a small part of Lex and I were truly afraid of that, so we made sure to help out whenever we could.

I walked over to Pluto and the children and took the girl, Venus, into my lap to play with her. I tickled her sides and she squealed, squirming to get out of my arms, but I held her tightly, laughing with her.

Ruby smiled at me, her eyes shining brightly, and said, "Venus is usually shy. Sh' really like yeh." I liked to hear that. I loved small children, it upset me when they weren't thrilled to be around me.

"So, have you been practicing your numbers?" I asked the small blond girl. She smiled and nodded her head. "Well, let's hear it!" I told her, eager to hear how she was progressing.

She adjusted herself to a more comfortable position on my lap. "Ooone...twooo...threeee...fooour..." she counted slowly, sticking out another finger as she said each one. I had to stifle a giggle at the fact that she stretched out every vowel like it was an important part of the learning process.

There was no education system out here, and the children seemed fascinated that I seemed to know so much, so they asked me to teach them when I had the time. I figured they would have learned numbers eventually, but at their age, I was surprised no one had bothered to try to teach them such a simple thing, yet.

"Seeeeveeen...um, niiine?"

I shook my head gently, "No, eight comes after seven, remember?"

Venus scrunched her face up and then said, "Yeah, I 'member now. Eiiight...niiine...teeen!" She smiled up at me, proud of herself.

I beamed back at her, hoping this precious girl would turn out like sweet little Ruby.

XXXXX


	9. Chapter 9

AN~ Warning: This chapter is short and depressing. Please don't hate me. D: And I can't really promise that it's going to get better soon, but it will get more interesting, I promise.

Please review! Oh and a huge thank you, once again, to my loyal reviewers. You guys are great! :D

XXXXX

**Chapter 9**

Lex and I laid in our respective beds but weren't able to sleep, so we had been talking quietly to one another for the last half hour.

"So why have you been getting along with them so well, Lily? I mean, I agree, the kids are sweet and I think it's super nice of you to be teaching them, but really. You play with Pluto like the kids, you absolutely adore Ruby and treat her like a little sister. You laugh with Goggle and Papa on the rare occasion that we catch them in the house, and you're beginning to treat Mama like...well, like a replacement mom..." Lex's voice trailed off at the end and I could tell he hadn't wanted to say it but it had been bugging him for a while.

I couldn't help but raise my voice a little. "Are you fucking serious? How dare you even think that?" I sat up in my bed and stared at him furiously. I couldn't believe he was accusing me of forgiving this family for what they had done to my own.

"Lex, they kill and eat people. They killed and ate our parents. It makes me sick just thinking about it. But what else do we have to do but get to know them? What other people do we have to rely on but these people? We have nowhere to go, no way to get out of here, and while we are here, they are surprisingly hospitable for a group that eats our kind. I am grateful for what they have done for us so far. You know Mama goes out of her way to make special meals for us. They have a stash of food from the gas station that's just for us. They've even put themselves in a position where they're fighting with each other over us, just to have us around. Have you heard the way Mama and Papa talk about Big Brain? They're really upset with him. He's disgusted that we're still here and won't even talk to most of the people in this house anymore, but they keep us around all the same! I still want to get out of here just as much as you do, and if I could go back in time and stop us from coming here, I would in a heartbeat, but I can't. We're here and just have to be happy with what we do have right now."

I took a deep breath and then relaxed, realizing that my whole body had tensed up during my extensive rant.

He looked away, blushing, ashamed that he had doubted me. "I-I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible. "I...haven't been thinking right...ever since we got here. This whole thing...ever since the crash, it's all felt like some horrible dream. There were times where I wondered if we were really here or if it was all a nightmare...and we were really in the hospital right now, the rest of the family just waiting for me to wake up," Lexis said, as he suddenly exploded into tears.

I stared at him for a moment, shocked at this unexpected outburst. I quickly ran over to his bed and held him in my arms as he shook, sobbing. I had no idea that the stress had been affecting him this much, he hid it so well. Apparently my keeping him in a good mood strategy wasn't working as well as I had hoped.

"Lex...Lexis, look at me." I whispered, thoroughly distressed. "You still have me, alright? I won't let anything happen to us, we'll keep brainstorming and we'll find a way out of here, okay? I love you, please don't do this." I held on tighter to him.

"I saw them...cut apart."

I shook my head, "Lexis...please, don't." I said, not wanting to hear about it again, but he continued, anyway.

"Blood...everywhere. Mom's heart was...cut out...and eaten whole. I couldn't stop throwing up...until one of them knocked me out, laughing. The last thing I saw...was dad's head...being removed from his body." Lex choked out between fits of sobs. This was the first time Lexis brought up the death of our parents since our first night here.

I had cried a few times on my own, when no one was around; I didn't want Lexis to lose heart and I didn't want the clan to see me as weak. Sometimes I'd be taking a shower or have some time to myself in our room and the reality of what had happened would hit me and I'd let it all out then. But other than those times, I usually had something or someone else to keep my mind away from that. It's why I tried so hard to make friends here.

Even though they were the cause of all my pain, they were also a remedy.

I rested my chin on the top of his head as tears started to well up in the corners of my eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to see it," I murmured.

He continued to shake, but had stopped crying. He slowly rose his face to where it was level with mine and looked into my eyes. It was such an intense and desperate stare, it startled me and a chill ran up my spine.

"I want to die, Lily. I don't want to go on like this...with these memories."

I felt my chest tighten. "Lex, don't you ever say anything like that again. You're just desperate to get out of here. Just like me."

"You want to die, too?" He mouthed the words, almost soundlessly.

"No," I answered quickly. "I hate this life, even though it may not seem like it, but I'm not going to give up." I grabbed his shoulders and shook him firmly. "Don't you give up either. I may have some friends here, but I can't rely on them to help me get out of here. If you don't want to stay alive to get through this, then stay alive to help me get through this. I need you lex."

It was true; I used the term "friends" quite loosely. Lexis was the only person I could put my absolute trust in. As much as I wanted to treat the clan as I do my friends back home, it just wasn't possible. I see potential in them to be better people, but I won't hold my breath, either.

That seemed to snap him out of his intense mood. He looked at me, sadly. "Of course. I'd do anything to keep you safe...you can count on me to get you out of here." I sighed, relieved that he could see some sense.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, got it?" I demanded of him, rather than asked him.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to sound so selfish, I know I need to stay with you to get you out of here...I won't do anything stupid, I promise." It wasn't quite what I was looking for; I wanted him to stop fighting so hard for me, and start fighting for himself, but it was the best I could hope for at the moment.

We huddled together again, and drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

AN ~ Alright, so now that I'm sure you all thoroughly despise me for the last chapter, here's some of what I'm sure you've all been waiting for.

This chapter will focus on interactions between Lily and Lizard, but I'm not going to guarantee they'll start off on the right foot.

Ooooh, suspenseful, yes?

Anywho, just a quick note on how much I would love to hear some feedback from my lovely readers. I want to hear your thoughts and opinions, no matter what they are. If you think it's great and can't wait for more, leave me a review! If you like it but you noticed some grammatical errors that make me look like a total moron, please bring them to my attention. If you think this story is craptasticly stupid and boring, well you can go fu-

*Ahem* I mean, let me know and I'd be more than happy to hear how you think I can improve. XD

XXXXX

**Chapter 10**

A knock on our door woke me up.

"Come in!" I replied sleepily. The door opened and after struggling to open my eyes, I saw Lizard standing in the doorway, completely devoid of any weapons for the first time since I had arrived here. It was odd that he was here; he was normally out at this time of the day with Papa and Goggle to search for unsuspecting victims.

"Why are you here?" I asked, rather bluntly. He seemed to shift his weight from one foot to the other nervously. He sighed, "Mama wan's yeh to teach me...things. She likes tha' the kids are learnin' stuff from yeh an' said she thinks yeh coul' teach me some useful stuff..." He didn't make eye contact with me and shuffled his feet on the floor like an uncomfortable five year old under the gaze of a lecturing parent.

I silently stared at him until my eyes glazed over and I said, "Lizard, it's too damn early for a practical joke. Come back when I'm awake." I laid back down next to my brother and stared at the ceiling, watching it dance. There's no way Mama would be asking me to spend time with Lizard, teaching him, just like I did with Venus and Mercury.

He looked almost hurt for a moment before his face scrunched up and he huffed. "I don' like it, either, bu' Mama tol' me ta tell yeh, so yeh don' wanna? Take it up with Mama. I'd hug yeh if yeh can convince 'er to drop it."

I slowly looked over at him, "I can't quite tell if that's supposed to be a promise or a threat." He looked at me for a moment and huffed again, turning on his heel to exit the room.

I felt like I couldn't go back to sleep, so I shook Lexis to wake him. "Hey...hey Lex. You wanna help me make some breakfast?" He mumbled unintelligibly and turned his back to me and fell back asleep. I rolled my eyes and got out of bed to get dressed.

It was a particularly warm morning, so I decided on a black miniskirt with deep purple ruffles along the bottom and riddled with unnecessary straps and chains, and paired it with a black lacy tank top. I was regretting having brought so many fancy, delicate articles of clothing on our trip, but I just had to make it work. At least they were practical in that they kept me decently cool. Having lived in Northwest Washington my whole life, I was not faring well in the heat. I nodded in approval after looking at myself in the dusty full length mirror that sat in the corner of our room that Ruby had donated to us.

I slipped my now dusty silver ballerina flats on and ran downstairs, hoping to meet Ruby for breakfast. I wasn't sure why I felt in such a good mood today. I think it was because Lexis and I had gotten so many feelings off our chest, that I felt like there wasn't so much weighing me down.

I skipped into the kitchen and made myself some instant coffee. After taking a sip and gagging, I turned to head outside the house to see if Ruby was in the yard. Lizard was standing by the table, watching me. I choked as I was taking my second sip, not from the taste this time.

I gawked at him. _This guy had to have been trained by ninjas, _a voice grumbled in my mind. "What the hell are you doing?" I snapped at him, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. Lizard shrugged, "Heard yeh skippin' downstairs. Figured yeh musta' talked ta Mama."

I looked at him blankly. "My lord, you were serious this morning, weren't you?" He scrunched up his face, making his jaw look a little more askew than usual. "Well o' course I wa' serious! I wouldn' even be here if I wasn'! Pluto's ou' with Papa an' Goggle t'day instead o' me. Ma' an' Pa' told me ta stay here t'day jus' fer yeh to tell me some stupid shit I don' need to know!"

I could swear I could feel my right eye twitch.

"Excuse me," I growled, walking away stiffly. He huffed again like earlier this morning and threw his arms up in the air, walking away in the opposite direction.

I stormed to the TV room, which Mama was usually in, brushing one of her many wigs and watching television. "Mama?" I called, peeking into the room. I found her on her rocking chair, just watching TV. She turned around, seemingly innocent.

I glared at her.

"What did you volunteer me to do?"

She grinned sheepishly and thought a moment before replying. "Swee'heart, I noticed yeh get along with most o' the fam'ly, 'sides Big Brain o' course, bu' yeh seem to be havin' troubles with Lizard. I figured I would give yeh a reason to spend time t'gether an' learn to un'erstand each other."

There was a look in her eyes that I couldn't quite decipher. Like I was missing out on some big joke. I could tell there was no talking her out of it.

I sighed, still glaring at her. "Okay, fine. But I can't guarantee it won't end with me kicking him in the face." Mama turned back to her TV and chuckled.

XXXXX

I found Ruby and told her what had happened this morning. We sat on the swings outside the house and gently swayed back and forth, careful since the swing set was extremely dilapidated. We sat in silence for a while after I vented about how awful this day was going to be.

"Lizard likes yeh." She said as if she were talking about the weather.

I turned my head to her, "Excuse me? Did you just say you saw a pig fly by?"

Ruby giggled and then grew serious again. "Really, known 'im my whole life. Never seen 'im act 'round anyone th' way he acts 'round yeh. He never say it, bu' he likes yeh."

I laughed nervously, "You mean as in he wants me in the family, right? Not as in he _likes_ me?" I put extra emphasis on the 'likes.'

"I dunno. Hard to tell, bu' maybe both." Ruby shrugged.

I stared at my shoes, twirling my ring around my finger. I now understood how Lexis felt last night. Maybe it would be better if we just offed ourselves.

"No," I said, my brain working furiously to come up with an explanation. "No, he may be intrigued by me, but I'm pretty damn sure he doesn't _like_ me." I nodded my head.

Yeah, of course I was right. Mama said so herself; he wasn't expecting me to make it this long, so he was curious. Why the hell would he be remotely interested in me? That's right, he wouldn't and isn't. So I'll just stop thinking about it now.

I'm still thinking about it. Why am I still thinking about it?

About him...

Fuck.

XXXXX

I went back upstairs to find Lexis half naked. "Crap, sorry!" I said, closing the door again to let him finish getting dressed. "Let me know when you're done!" I yelled, hopping from foot to foot impatiently.

A few seconds later, Lex called out, "Okay, you can come in now." I rushed in and sat down on the bed and looked up at him, wordlessly. He rolled his eyes. "What did you do now, Lily?" I looked down at my hands, twiddling my fingers. "Um, I think something really bad has happened."

His face dropped, concerned. "What's going on?" he asked, worried.

"It's-no, it's nothing serious. Don't worry, nobody died or anything like that," I laughed loudly, suddenly realizing that I had a nervous twitch in my leg going about a hundred miles an hour. Lex stared at me and held his hand to my forehead. "Lily, I'm pretty sure you have no idea what you're talking about right now. How about you lay down and I'll get you a glass of water."

He started to stand up and I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down as I laughed tensely again.

"I think that Ruby thinks that Lizard likes me," I blurted out, letting go of him. Not quite what I wanted to tell him, but it was as close to it that I could come.

His eyes grew wide and his nostrils flared. I leaned forward, "But don't worry, I'm pretty sure she's making shit up!" I said, laughing crazily again. Yeah, not at all what I had originally meant to say. But how could I? Somehow, it seemed as though saying the words that I so greatly feared would make them come true.

Lexis called down the hall, not taking his eyes off me, "M-Mama! Something's wrong with Lily!" I heard Mama heading down the hall toward us. Lord, what was I going to say?

"Wha's wrong?" Mama asked Lex, coming up to the doorway. "I have no freaking idea," Lex replied. "She's been talking nonsense and acting really strange. I think she may be having a heat stroke."

Mama took one look at me and grinned knowingly. Like I had confirmed some sort of suspicion she had.

"How 'bout yeh jus' give 'er a glass o' water an' a momen' to rest alone. She'll be feelin' better, trus' me." She winked and us and left to go watch more television.

Lex sighed, "Well, fine. I don't have any better ideas, so you stay here, I'll get some water and then you can rest for a while, okay?" I nodded, clutching the side of the bed, rocking back and forth.

_She knew. _I don't how the woman did it, but I swear she knew. I laid down on my bed, feeling a tad nauseous. I was so ready for this squirmy feeling in the pit of my stomach to go away. When was I going to get over this?

Maybe I didn't really feel the way I thought I felt. Maybe all these uncomfortable feelings were simply caused by the mere thought of liking the most violent man I've ever met in my life. That made a whole lot more sense. Lex came back and handed me the glass of water and then left, closing the door behind him, without a word.

XXXXX

After an hour of mental preparation, I decided to face my fears. I got out of bed and slipped my shoes back on. Walking out the door and down the stairs, I realized that I couldn't stop shaking slightly. I had come to the conclusion, earlier, that my panic attack had made me come to conclusions that weren't true. There was no possible way I would, for any reason, find a rageful, cannibalistic, raping mutant attractive. Maybe I was mistaking my fascination with getting into his head with attraction. But I was still not comfortable around him. He was still violent and hated me, which was not a good combination.

I reached the living room downstairs where I found Lizard cleaning his spike strip. The rag he was cleaning it with was stained a rusty color from blood. I tried to ignore it and cleared my throat.

"Um, I-I'm here to help you with...anything you might have questions about. Preferrably something…quick and easy." I gulped.

He didn't look up, but set the strip down and tossed the rag at me. "How 'bout yeh do something useful an' put tha' in th' wash room fer me?" he spoke nonchalantly as he leaned back into the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table next to the spike strip.

I stared down at the bloody rag I had just caught, horrified. I could swear I saw tiny chunks of flesh on it. I dropped it quickly then looked back up at him and glowered at him.

"No," I said sternly. Lizard turned to look at me, surprise written all over his face, whether he wanted it to show or not. "W-watchu say?" he said, apparently not used to people disobeying him. I didn't know where this sudden burst of courage came from, but I felt I needed to prove myself to him. Maybe he would stop being such an ass if I showed him that I was different from all the other girls he's used to; that I could be strong out here.

I took a step toward him. "You heard me. I'm not gonna lie to you, Mama set this whole thing up so that we'd have a reason to talk to each other. I don't have to teach you anything, if you find it embarrassing that I'm so much more intelligent than you, but we should at least tolerate each other long enough to get some small talk out of the way, cause it'll make her feel better," I said, not letting him see the terror that I felt at my own words.

His face turned from shocked to murderous, his ice like eyes growing colder by the second. "Yeh stupi' bitch!" He rose from the couch and grabbed his spike strip threateningly. "How dare yeh! First yeh disobey me, then yeh mock me an' e'spect to get away with it?" He practically flew forward and grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off the ground slightly. Shit, he was a lot stronger that I expected. I could only stand on my tip toes and I wrapped my hands around his wrist to hold myself up, trying to keep from suffocating. I tried to scream for help, but all that came out was a couple of strangled squeaks.

I glanced at his face which was less than a foot away from mine. This was the first time I had ever seen him this close up. His skin looked weathered, probably from being out in the desert sun so much, and he certainly had a few scars. Most likely from the people he had killed, fighting for their lives. He looked so much more terrifying this close.

I kicked my leg out as hard as I could, and after a couple of failed attempts, my right knee met his groin; bulls eye.

He wheezed and doubled over, loosening his grip on me. I broke free and sprinted through the house and up the stairs, Lizard hot on my trail. I got to the top of the stairs and screamed hoarsely for Mama as he lunged forward and grabbed my ankles, tripping me. I tried to get up, but Lizard was quicker and was straddling me before I could get anywhere.

He turned me over onto my back and threateningly pressed the spike strip against my throat as I screamed for Mama again. Mama came running out of her room and down the hall toward us. Shortly afterward, I heard two people running into the house and up the stairs.

"Lily!" I heard my brother cry anxiously. He must have been outside and heard all the commotion in the house. Mama stopped a few feet from us and just stood there, her eyes threatening to pop out of her skull. "Lizard!" she shrieked at him.

Lizard gaped up at her like a child that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She puffed her chest up and her face grew red. "Lizard, wha' th' hell are ye' doin'?" I looked past the wide blue eyes and mess of sand colored hair in front of me and saw Lexis and Ruby stop at the top of the stairs, both looking shocked at the sight before them.

"B-bitch was askin' fer it!" Lizard tried to clarify, but Mama took a threatening step forward.

"Yer gonna git offa 'er righ' now an' apologize!" Mama exploded at him, apparently not pleased with his explanation.

Lizard snorted and slowly got up, throwing his spike strip over his shoulder again. "'M s'rry," he mumbled, barely audible. Mama glared at Lizard, a fire in her eyes that seemed to melt the ice in Lizard's.

Lexis rushed over to my side to see what harm had been done to me. "I'm fine," I said, my voice sounding gravelly. It still throbbed from when Lizard choked me and my voice didn't work quite right. "Lily, your neck..." his voice trailed off. Mama came over to the other side of me to inspect. Her frown grew so that it threatened to expand beyond her face. "Lizar'..." She growled threateningly. "Wha' didja do to 'er?"

"I jus' knocked 'er over an' held 'er down wit' my spikes," he replied, almost sounding concerned. "An' before tha'?" Mama pressed. "I, uh...well I put my hands 'round 'er neck, bu' not even tha' hard." Lizard seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment. "So tha' explains th' bruises," Mama said hotly.

Lex was shaking, holding my hand tightly. "It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay," Lexis said, trying to hold back tears. I rolled my eyes. "Of course I'm going to be fine. I just need a day to recover," I wheezed. "No," Mama said, turning to Lizard. "Lizard is gonna take care o' yeh till yer wounds heal."

"Wounds? What are you talking about, they're just bru..." I put my hand up to my neck and froze. I felt a warmth trickling down the side of my neck. I held my hand up to see the red liquid smeared across my fingertips. He must have cut me with the spike strip when he was on top of me. I probably didn't feel it because my throat was numb and throbbing from the choking.

Lizard was visibly upset at this point; for what reason, I could only guess. "Yes, Mama..." he sighed. He leaned over to pick me up, bridal style, and walked me down the hall toward the bathroom. In the arms of my assailant was the last place I wanted to be, and I felt unbelievably uncomfortable, but I didn't dare ask him to put me down. I was terrified he'd decide Mama's wrath would be a small price he'd gladly pay for slaughtering me on the spot. I looked back to see Ruby walk over to Lex and put her hand on his shoulder as both of them stared daggers at the back of Lizard's head.

Lizard set me down on the counter and started rummaging through the medicine cabinet as I looked at myself in the mirror. I actually jumped at the sight of the raging hand shaped bruise on my neck, each finger easily discernable. The fresh cuts weren't as bad as I expected, just bleeding a lot more than they should have. They were scattered, some on the front of my neck just below my chin, some as low as my collarbone. Damn, the cuts from the crash had just healed up. Now this...

He took out the bottle of antiseptic and poured some out onto a rag. "Thi' is gonna hurt a lot," he muttered softly. "I know, just do it," I replied impatiently. He seemed a little hurt and quickly patted the rag against my neck.

I groaned, tensing up, and threw my head back, allowing him better access to the multiple cuts. "So why the hell do you seem to care so much all of a sudden?" I hissed through clenched teeth.

"I...I don' care. I jus'...yer differen'," was all he said to me for the rest of the night, other than simple commands or warnings on what he was going to do next.

"Allrigh', keep yer chin up. I'm gonna clean yeh up then wrap yer neck," he said almost tenderly. I left my head tilted upward but just low enough to watch him tend to my wounds. His crystal blue eyes were not harboring malice like they were earlier, but concern.

He took a warm, wet rag and started to gently wipe off all the now dried blood off of my neck and chest. I instinctively twitched away from his touch as he brushed the skin just above my unfortunately low cut tank top, but I was surprised to see him actually pull away when I reacted. Looking a little embarrassed, he moved the rag higher up to my neck.

He finished up cleaning me off and pulled out the roll of gauze. Lizard asked me to hold my hair up so he could wrap the bandages all the way around. I pulled it all up into a loose bun and held it there with one of the hair bands I always kept on my wrist.

He wrapped it loosely, so that it didn't hurt my bruise too much, which I was thankful for. I looked him straight in the eyes after he finished up, searching for an answer. He wasn't any less of a mystery to me than he was before. He looked away, apparently uncomfortable, and turned to leave the bathroom. "Thanks," I mumbled. I knew he was the reason we were even here, but all the same, I was grateful for him not taking the opportunity to rip my head off once we were alone again. He simply nodded his head and took off to his room down the hall.

I hopped off the counter and turned to study myself in the mirror. He did a good job, surprisingly. As I studied the fresh disturbances on my skin, memories of this afternoon popped into my head. It all felt like it was ages ago, although it was this very day that I wondered if I had feelings for this terrifyingly unpredictable man. I snorted and shook my head in disbelief as the image in the mirror seemed to mock me, sneering and shaking its head at my absurd "revelation." I watched the expression of my reflection grow worried as I began to wonder; if that was an incorrect assumption, then what is the _correct _assumption?

This man was either going to kill me or drive me insane within a week, I was sure of it. His actions made no sense. Attacking me was expected, but the quick change of heart after he stood up and got a good look at the damage he had caused made no sense at all.

What the hell was going on in that disturbed head of his?

XXXXX

After a long night of Lex and Ruby sitting on my bed with me, pestering me for all the gruesome little details of the attack, I finally told both of them that I just wanted some rest.

They quickly nodded their heads and headed off to their respective beds, leaving me in my own. I laid down and stretched out, enjoying the quiet. My brain had kept me up for what seemed like forever, trying to figure out what to do from here.

Lexis had grown much more uncomfortable after tonight's events, which was understandable. But I honestly felt like I had earned a spot in this household after my confrontation with Lizard. I think I was beginning to understand his reaction.

He respected me.

Well, I don't think he truly respected anyone, but as much as he can, he respected me. He finally realized that I was stronger than he gave me credit for. I didn't cry and whimper and sit there defenseless while he attacked me.

As stupid as it sounds, I almost didn't want to leave just yet because what I had just accomplished would simply be a waste. But then again, I still didn't feel safe here. I had a feeling I wasn't exempt from Lizard's abuse just because of this one little understanding.

But after finally giving up on finding answers now, I drifted off to the muffled noise of Mama and Papa yelling at Lizard downstairs.


	11. Chapter 11

AN~ I am so sorry, guys! I've been crazy busy for the last few weeks. I had about a million projects going on at once for my sister's 16th birthday as well as a convention. But both have passed and now I'm back to not having a life.

:D Yay!

So, here's chapter 11. As usual, thanks to my lovely reviewers!

**Chapter 11**

Two days after the Lizard incident, things had finally gone back to normal. Or at least as normal as things can be around here. Lizard had gone back to sneering at me from across the room while I was chatting with Mama and the rest of the clan had stopped asking if I was alright, and avoiding looking at my neck because they thought it would make me self conscious. Lex had finally stopped babying me, and for that I was the most grateful.

Lexis had always felt the need to take care of me, even though I was the older of the two of us, and it got on my nerves sometimes. Even before all of this, when we had a normal life at home, he would stand up to the other kids that would pick on me years ago when I didn't know how to stand up for myself.

We were home schooled most of our lives and I was very shy because of it. We only spent the last few years of schooling in public school and I got picked on because of my quiet disposition and my choices in clothing. He would defend me to the point where he got beat up once. I was glad to have someone put in a good word for me, but it frustrated me sometimes that he would go out of his way to take care of me. I know he cared about me, but couldn't he see that I cared about him, too? Sometimes I would be happier if he would take more care of himself, rather than focusing all his attention on me.

"Mornin'," Goggle greeted me in the kitchen, smiling warmly at me. Both he and Lex had been sitting at the dining table, casually chatting. I was pleasantly surprised to see Lex talking to someone other than Ruby. I smiled and walked over to the fridge to find a juice box that Papa had brought home yesterday after raiding someone's car.

A week ago, I would have felt guilty eating and drinking what was stolen from the people that the clan killed, but I had finally come to terms with the fact that it was here and there was nothing I could do to change what had happened. Might as well not let it go to waste.

I poked the tiny straw through the top of the box and took a sip, trying not to wince at the pain in my throat, and sat next to Lex at the table.

"So what's up, Goggle? Are you staying home today?" I asked him, almost hoping he would. Other than Big Brain, who I refused to try to get to know, and Cyst, who was usually out and about, Goggle was the one I knew the least. He was always out on watch, only coming home for very short breaks. He usually got back in at about 2 a.m., after the rest of the family had gone to bed, and then left early in the morning before most of us were up.

He nodded. "Yea' we jus' caugh' some new meat las' nigh'. I can take a break fer th' day."

I shuddered, trying not to imagine what he meant by "caught some new meat."

"So...what do you do all day when you're out there? Doesn't it get extremely boring?" Lexis asked him, voicing the exact question in my head.

"We always got our walkie-talkies on us," he explained, brushing a hand through his thin hair. "We talk when there' nothin' else to do. And I gotta say, yeh two have bee' givin' us plenty to talk 'bout, lately." He grinned at us and we all chuckled. "Yeah, I don't doubt that," I mumbled, rolling my eyes and taking another sip of my juice.

"Well, I'll catch you guys later. I'm gonna go see if I can find Ruby right now," I said, getting up.

"'Kay," Goggle replied simply, and tipped his hat at me.

"Don't get into too much trouble," Lex grumbled, poking me in the side.

I squirmed and giggled, rolling my eyes. "Oh come on, what can happen that hasn't already happened?" I said, jokingly.

"True," Lex said, shrugging his shoulders and went back to chatting with Goggle.

I went outside, expecting to find Ruby on the swing set like she was most mornings, enjoying the quiet and the warmth of the sun. Surprised, I found that she wasn't there. I looked around the front yard, expecting to see that familiar bright red hoodie somewhere, but the whole area seemed entirely deserted.

I finally decided to venture out around to the side of the house. I had never strayed from the front yard since Mama and Papa had warned me not to. If I went too far, I was in danger of being attacked by other mutants. That simple warning was all it took to keep me in the front yard. But just going around the house couldn't be a problem, could it?

I wandered around to the side and found a shed tucked away in the back. There was a bit of distance between it and the house, but it wasn't far, so I figured it wouldn't be any trouble. As I neared it, I heard a shrill scream come from inside the shed. I initially froze, terrified of what might be happening, then the door burst open.

"Ruby!" I cried, dropping my juice box in the red dust, as I ran forward to see what was wrong.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

Ruby's hands were layered with blood and she was shaking from head to foot, quickly backing out of the shed. What followed her out was what I had feared to find ever since I arrived in this Hell.

A young man, about the age of 25, crawled through the doorway of the shed, drenched in blood. His shoulder length bleached blond hair was pasted against his face with crimson liquid and there was a nasty gash across his forehead. One of his legs appeared to be broken in multiple places and he did not have the strength to get up with his good leg, so he pulled himself out of the darkness into the blazing desert sun on his hands.

As I reached Ruby, only yards away from the man and the shed, the bloody figure before us shrieked, stretching one of his arms out toward us, pleadingly. Now that I was near enough, I suddenly noticed... the whole shed reeked of death.

I gagged at the smell and the sight. It was overwhelming and the strength I had obtained over the last few days seemed to escape me. I grabbed Ruby's arm, pulling her away from the man, and started to run back to the refuge of the house. But she stayed there.

I turned to her. "Ruby, what are you doing?" I said, panicked. I didn't know what was going on, it all felt like some horrific nightmare.

I took a moment to watch her and noticed she stood there, watching the man with a sad, sympathetic look in her big brown eyes.

"Papa!" she called, then stayed very still and quiet, just watching the man.

Papa came running out of the house only moments later. "Was wonderin' wha' all th' commotion was 'bout..." he muttered just loud enough for me and Ruby to catch. The man probably couldn't hear anything we were saying anyway, due to his constant whimpering and choking on his own blood.

Papa pulled a knife out of his jacket and Ruby, suddenly remembering that it would be better if I didn't witness this, pulled on my arm and ran with me back to the front of the house. I heard a few more violent screams and then...silence. Nothing but the soft breeze blowing sand about our feet and gently rustling tumbleweeds nearby.

I shakily sat down on the porch and started to cry, covering my face with my hands. Ruby sat down beside me and put her hand on my shoulder. "I...I knew I wan'ed to help yeh as soon as I heard abou' yeh an' yer brother. Now yeh know why I had to convince Papa to let yeh live. You would be in tha' shed righ' now, if I didn'..."

I leaned into her shoulder and continued to cry, realizing that she smelled like the shed. I had wondered where they kept the bodies up till now.

Pieces of the recent memory played over and over through my head.

The man leaving a trail of blood behind him.

That look of terror frozen on his face.

The sight of giant, bloody meat hooks hanging just beyond the gaping shed door.

That smell...that terrible smell...

I cringed at every thought, wishing it all had never happened. "Why were you in there?" I choked out between sobs.

"I don' like it, bu' Mama an' Papa make me help with takin' care o' the bodies," she answered quietly, self consciously wiping her hands off on her jacket sleeves, trying to get the red off.

"I just...need some time alone, I think," I whispered to her. She seemed a bit hurt, but nodded her head and helped me up and into the house.

I had mostly stopped crying, but was still sniffling and wiping tears off my face. My neck was starting to throb under the bandages around my neck and remembered that they needed to be changed tonight. I wasn't happy about that; Mama had assigned Lizard to take care of me until my cuts were healed, as punishment. I really didn't feel like facing Lizard today. Actually, I didn't feel like facing any of them today.

Lex ran over to me and Goggle just peeked around the corner and watched us silently. "Lily!" my brother gasped, exasperated. "What's wrong? You were out for ten minutes! What did you already get yourself into?"

Fresh tears started to trickle down my face again and I bowed my head, letting my hair hang in front of my face. I didn't want to be seen like this. Ruby shook her head at Lex, pleading him to be more gentle with me. He looked at me a little more worried than upset, now.

"Lily, tell me what happened. Did Lizard hurt you again?" Lex took me in his arms and hugged me tightly as he said that last part, as if he suspected that's what it was.

I shook my head and tried to explain what had happened, but Lex and Ruby hushed me at the same time. "It's okay, you can tell me when you're not so upset," Lex said, and promptly picked me up and carried me up the stairs to our room.

I was grateful that he did, because I didn't think I had the strength to get myself up there. I felt weak, like all my courage and will to be strong and survive in this harsh environment had been drained out of me. I felt like a scared little child, and I hated it.

We reached the bedroom, Ruby tagging along behind us, and Lex gently laid me down in my bed. I scrunched up into a ball and Lex sat at the foot of the bed and sighed, watching me. Ruby cleared her throat, "Um, I-I think we shoul' leave 'er fer a while." Lex sighed again and followed Ruby out of the room, closing the door behind him.

The silence was welcome. I couldn't seem to think straight, the whole day seemed like a blur. It had started out well enough, seeing Goggle and being excited to play with the children again today. I had given Venus and Mercury something to practice last night, so I had been looking forward to checking up on their progress. But now, it all seemed like a lie.

I didn't know what I thought anymore. I had grown to like a lot of the clan, especially over the last few days, but after this brief and unexpected glimpse into the darker part of who they were, I began to wonder if they were even capable of caring about Lex and I. Besides the Lizard incident, they hadn't hurt us, and a few of them even seemed to be protective of us...but outside of the house, they were still monsters.

I started to become angry with myself at having been so blind. Of course they were monsters, how could I ever think otherwise? How did I let myself grow so close to them? I didn't know why, but I felt betrayed. Maybe some part of me had thought that if they liked Lex and I, maybe they would change. Maybe they would become a little more human, but they didn't; not for us.

A few tears started to trickle down my face again, but not of fear or sadness. They were tears brought on by hatred and disgust.

My head lowered into my hands and I gritted my teeth and held my eyes tightly shut as I balled my hands into fists. A few shuddering breaths later, one fist flew out of its own accord and connected with the wooden bed frame, fracturing one of the posts. The pain was dull but it was enough to bring me back to focus. I couldn't let my emotion overtake me. I had to be able to think, because tonight...we were breaking out of here.

XXXXX


	12. Chapter 12

AN~ Okay, another unfortunately short chapter. I'm so sorry. ;_;

I've been rather busy with actual real life stuff lately, not just video games. It's surprising, really. So anyway, here's another chapter to keep you guys going while I work on editing the next couple chapters for posting.

As always, thanks to my wonderful reviewers. You guys keep me going. :)

**Chapter 12**

After a few hours, Pluto and the children came in to see how I was doing. I had calmed down considerably, but I felt a little uncomfortable; after having made up my mind, I really didn't want to see any of the mutants besides Ruby.

"Lily, why you so sad?" asked Mercury, frowning as if he were trying to show me how distraught he thought I looked.

I sat up in my bed, my gaze only meeting the blue toned flesh of the boy before me, rather than his eyes. "I'm fine, sorry to worry you guys." I know I wasn't doing a very good job of faking fine, but I couldn't truly put my heart into it. I really was going to miss these guys. Seeing their sweet innocence had almost made me change my mind.

"So have you been practicing your alphabet, like I told you?" I asked them. Practicing a regular routine lightened my mood a little as it helped me briefly take my mind off of my plans for the evening. Before, I had given them both a piece of paper with the alphabet on it and taught them how to sound out each letter properly.

They nodded their heads vigorously, looking proud of themselves. I cracked a tiny smile.

"How about you bring it in and you can show me, okay?" I told them and they ran off to their room to retrieve the paper. Pluto stood there and smiled at me.

"Yes, Pluto?" I asked, almost a little paranoid. Now that escape was near, it was hard to keep my cool. I had to remind myself that they weren't mind readers and had no reason to be suspicious, as long as I acted normal.

"Ca' Liiily...teeea'...Pluuuto?" he thundered deeply.

I genuinely smiled. So he wanted to learn what the children were learning. It made sense; he was probably on the same level, mentally, as them, if not lower.

"Of course, Pluto. And if Mercury and Venus have it down, they can even help you with it, okay? You can all work on it together."

The blonde haired girl and blue skinned boy came rushing back into the room and jumped up on my bed on either side of me.

They each recited beautifully. I then asked them if they wanted to help me teach Pluto the alphabet and they were overjoyed at the suggestion. We all sat there for twenty minutes, helping Pluto through the same exercises I gave the children and he caught on better than I expected. The children took their task very seriously and enthusiastically corrected him every time he faltered. All three of them loved it and I could tell it was a good bonding experience for them.

After I had given Pluto enough time to get the gist of most of it, I asked him to bring Ruby and Lex up to the room for me. He left, happy to take on the task, and I kissed the children on their foreheads and told them to go show Mama what they had learned. I was sure she'd be happy, she loved that they were getting a chance to learn things that none of her other children got the opportunity to.

As soon as I had the room to myself, I stood to take a look at myself in the mirror. As I studied my reflection, I was surprised to see how drained and beaten I looked. My face and arms were scarred from the crash and the wraps around my neck...well, I could only imagine how my flesh looked under them. And my expression looked like I was tired of life.

I noted my outfit; I was probably going to have to change before we left. As nice as shorts and a spaghetti strap top would seem to be, traveling through the desert, it did get considerably cooler at night.

I went over to my suitcase and sorted through my clothes. I finally found my light jacket and a pair of capris. I also decided my black tennis shoes would be the best hiking choice, rather than my ballerina flats. I put them aside, deciding to change a little later. Ruby and Lexis entered the room.

"You wanted us?" Lex asked me, glad to see I was up. "Yeah," I mumbled quietly, as I rushed past them and closed the door. They both looked at me, curious about what I could have to say in private. I went back to my bed and motioned to them to come a little closer. I wasn't taking any chances of anyone overhearing us.

"Ruby..." I whispered. "You know when we had talked a while ago about...about how this wasn't the kind of place Lex and I could truly call our home?" Her expression remained blank, so I took a deep breath and continued cautiously. "Well, I-I think that maybe the time h-has come for us to...leave..."

My announcement was a lot weaker than I remember reciting in my head.

Ruby looked like she wasn't quite sure what I was saying. Lex stood there, looking uncomfortable. "Are you sure this is the right time? We really only get one shot," he whispered back. I shrugged, "They're all home tonight, Lex. Seems like the best chance we could hope for."

Ruby seemed to catch on.

"Yeh...yeh wanna run 'way?" she said very softly.

"Yes, Ruby. I...I really like you, you know that, and I've grown close to a lot of your family, but I can't do it. The murders and the...it's just too much. After what happened this morning..." I couldn't say any more. I didn't want to remember it. "I miss normal life," I said simply.

Lex looked at me, concerned. "Yeah, what did happen today, Lily? You were fine this morning and then you were outside for a few minutes and next thing I knew, you were back in the house, a mess."

I looked at Ruby and gave her a slight nod. She understood that I was giving her permission to speak for me. She gave Lexis the watered down version, but he could fill in the blanks himself. He just looked at me sympathetically. He knew what I had seen. He had been there himself, a little over three weeks ago...

"I know how you feel, now, Lex..." I said, hoping he would understand my reference to the intense conversation we had had just a few nights ago, where it had been my turn to comfort him when he thought he couldn't take it anymore.

He nodded gravely. "I told you before, I'm not letting anything happen to you. If you need to get out...if you think tonight is the time to do it, then we're gonna do it. Just don't give up hope, like I did. I can only stay strong if you are."

I smiled at my courageous little brother, then glanced toward Ruby. "I understand if you don't want to get involved in this, but I want to let you know that you are welcome to come with us. I know you love your family, but I also know you don't like what your family does any more than we do. It would take a while to get used to the world out there, it's big and kinda scary but we'd take care of you," I said hopefully.

She took a long time to mull over my offer. It was sudden and unexpected, and I was kind of sorry we couldn't have given her more time to weigh her options.

Her face grew sad and I knew she had reached a decision. "I...I have to stay wit' m-my fam'ly. They don' always do th' righ' things, a-an' we don' get along like fam'lies on TV...bu' they still my fam'ly."

I knew it was hard for her to say, she sounded like she did want to come with us. She always admired the people she saw on TV, she envied their happy, blood-free lives. But this was the only life she knew, and as much as she hated parts of it...this was home to her.

I stood up and hugged her. "I'm going to miss you, Ruby," I said, trying not to cry as Lex came over and wrapped his arms around the both of us. My brother spoke up, "I know I didn't like most of your family like Lily did, but I really appreciate all you did for us, Ruby. I'm going to miss you, too."

A few tears escaped of the corners of my eyes and I sniffled. I took a step back, breaking the hug before I completely lost it and said to Lex, "So, tonight at midnight..."

XXXXX


	13. Chapter 13

AN~ Okay, another short one, I apologize. I do believe they get much longer from here on out, though. :D Which also means editing will take longer, but oh well.

Major thanks to my regular reviewers kaaayyytteee, sandradee27, and Jasama000! I love you guys! Your reviews have helped keep me motivated to continue on through this fic. :D

**Chapter 13**

10:00 p.m. that night...

I sat on the bathroom counter next to the sink as the same man that caused the wounds on my neck tended to them.

"Now thi' gunna hurt 'gain," He muttered, not making eye contact with me.

I sighed, wishing he'd just hurry up. I wanted to go back to my room so Lex and I could go over our plans once more before the big escape.

He peeled the bandages off and it stung as they ripped away from the fresh scabs across my neck. A couple started bleeding again, but just in small trickles. He quickly wiped all the fresh blood off before he took out a rag and poured that familiar bottle of antiseptic onto it.

"I bet you're pretty good at this," I said, not sure why I felt the need to make small talk.

"Wha' you mean?" He growled, still not meeting my eye.

"Well I just meant I'm sure you're used to having to take care of all sorts of wounds," I said, a little annoyed that he had been acting like the night that he had softened up to me never happened.

He didn't respond. "So, uh...how's the bruise looking?" I asked, trying to get him to talk to me.

"Almos' gone; too bad, I was proud o' tha'."

I frowned which made him grin, showing off his sharp, mangled teeth. "Yeh thin' tha' jus' cause yeh got Mama to protec' yeh means we're gon' be bes' friends? Ha! I still don' like yeh any more than when yeh got 'ere. Still jus' meat..." He sneered mockingly.

"I'm pretty sure that was genuine emotion you showed a few nights ago, Lizard," I said, hoping to crack him open. He glanced at me, making eye contact for the first time tonight.

I gazed back into his icy blue eyes, then looked away shyly. _No_, I scolded myself, _he's murderous scum that visciously attacked you a few nights ago. No having second thoughts now. Besides, you know you don't really like him. You're just mistaking your curiosity for other feelings._

Apparently my blank stare while I was lecturing myself was noticeable. "Wha' you lookin' at?" Lizard asked, annoyed.

I snapped myself back to reality. "Sorry, just thinking..." I trailed off quietly as I lifted my head for him to re-wrap my neck.

"Well yeh looked like it was takin' a lotta effort," he sneered, fighting to keep a straight face while he passed the roll of bandages from hand to hand around my neck.

"Oh so you do have a sense of humor!" I replied mockingly, hoping he was at least sane enough to allow mild poking fun at him. He just snorted and rolled his eyes and finished wrapping me up.

"Speaking of humor, your little sister seemed to think you had actually started warming up to me, which was pretty funny considering right after that, you tried to kill me," I chuckled.

Lizard put the roll of bandages away and started to leave the room before stopping in the doorway, leaving his back turned to me.

"Yer still here, aren' yeh?"

"Yeah?" I said, not quite sure what he was getting at.

"If I didn' think yeh were a good addition to th' fam'ly, then yeh wouldn' be," he replied quietly before leaving me sitting on the counter, dumbfounded.

XXXXX

1:50 a.m. that night...

"Well, I think they're all finally asleep," Lex whispered after the house was absolutely silent for a good half an hour. It took longer than we expected for all of them to finally settle down, so we were a bit behind on schedule, but it was okay. Of course we both knew Ruby wasn't asleep, though. She was upset that we were leaving, and was probably going to be up all night worrying about if we had made it out alive or not.

We had packed a few helpful things that had been sitting in our room that had originally been in our car, like a flashlight and some dried fruit snacks, into my backpack. Thankfully, instead of just giving the things from our car to Jeb, the man at the gas station, Papa and Pluto brought back everything that they had found from the wreckage and given it to Lexis and I.

"I think we're all set," I whispered as quietly as I could. Lex nodded and we both padded along silently in just our socks. We had put our shoes into my backpack to put on once we had gotten outside because it's much easier to movesilently without shoes.

Since the window was much too small for us to squeeze out of, I spent a whole minute opening the door as slowly as I could, due to stopping and giving my heart a few moments to stop racing every time it made the tiniest squeak.

We eventually made our way down the hall, grateful that the mutants liked to keep their doors closed while sleeping. We reached the staircase and I looked back at Lex nervously. I could barely make out his silhouette nod for me to continue on. I looked back down the nearly pitch black stairs and swallowed thickly before taking my first step.

So far so good. I took a couple more excruciatingly slow steps toward freedom as Lex followed my every move close behind me.

Suddenly we heard a cough behind us.

My heart completely stopped and I felt like I was going to faint.

Then, we heard another cough and realized it was just Papa Jupiter in his room which was closest to us.

I exhaled the breath I had been holding for what seemed like forever and continued moving downward.

After a couple minutes of going and stopping we finally hit the first level of the house. I grabbed Lex's hand in excitement as the door that marked the beginning of our journey was in sight.

We crept toward the front door and I opened it just as slowly as I had opened our bedroom door.

Once it was open just enough for us to escape, we slinked out into the chilled night air and took a look around, overjoyed that we had made it through what was probably the most difficult part. Now that we were out of the house, things were looking good.

The moon was full, causing the desert hills to appear to give off a ghostly glow. It was eerie, no doubt about it, but it didn't deter us one bit. We couldn't help but feel like nothing could stand in our way.

I took our shoes out and handed Lexis his pair. After having some difficulty with mine, due to my hands shaking uncontrollably, we took each other's hand and began our trek through the desert.

XXXXX


	14. Chapter 14

AN ~ Hallo everyone! I know I'm long overdue for a new chapter. I've been sick (again), filling out job applications, and trying to figure out how to take care of meh new lizard. :P But I've finally edited it as much as I think it needs and I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. :D Also, terribly sorry, but there is quite a cliffhanger at the end. Maybe if I get a lot of feedback, I'll get the next chapter up quickly. . *Cough*

Major thanks to those of you who take the time to review! :3 I luff you all!

**Chapter 14**

As soon as we had safely passed Big Brain's house, we raced toward the seemingly endless stretch of hills before us, not stopping to look back at the place that had been the closest thing we had to a home for the last...God, I had already lost track of just how long we had been trapped there. Too long, that's all I know. The cool, arid night air whipped my face, particularly cold where a single tear had left a damp trail down my cheek.

Lexis was practically skipping, his hand still clinging to mine tightly. His heavy breath slowly developed into a laugh as he realized what we had just accomplished.

We had escaped alive.

We ran for minutes, our pace never slowing. The adrenaline was still running strong in our veins. It was silent other than the pattering of our feet against the sand and our breath quick from excitement. A coyote howled in the distance, but we didn't slow down, determined to get as far as we could under the cover of the night.

The mutant family was home for the night, but I figured Goggle would be back out in the morning for his usual routine. We had to be out of the area before then.

We eventually got to a point where we had to slow to a walk to catch our breath.

"Lex," I panted, "how far do you think we have to go before we find the gas station?"

"I think it'll be a while. Probably two hours at the very least, if we keep up a decent pace," Lex replied, not gasping for air as hard as I was. He was always in better shape than I was, although the closest he had ever come to playing a sport was video gaming.

"So...so you think you might miss them?" I asked, feeling like I needed to talk.

"Miss them?" he laughed. "Hell no, I feel bad that we left Ruby behind, but it was her choice. But no, I won't miss any of them."

We walked in silence for a minute before he went on.

"I know you had grown attached to some of them and I'm sorry that it didn't work out. I actually wouldn't have minded staying, seeing as how we really don't have anywhere else to go and it honestly seemed like they wanted us to stay with them as part of the family. I mean really, no money, no credit cards. I still dunno how the hell we're going to get very far, let alone all the way home. But with them being such monsters..." he finished, his voice seething with spite.

"They opened up to me more than they did to you, and I got to see a different side to them," I said defensively, not wanting him to hate them as much as he did. "I really think they have the ability to be good people. It's hard, because they've lived so viciously all their lives, but I think that when given the chance, they really can be...decent."

He studied me, unsure of what to think. "Well we're out, so it doesn't matter anymore, anyway," he said.

"I know, but...I just don't want you to remember them as monsters. I...when I decided that we were leaving tonight, I hated them. I thought they were just as disgusting as they were before we got there. I had always known that they still killed when we were there, but it wasn't until I saw...it...that it finally hit me. I was overwhelmed because of it and started to hate them...but after having a chance to calm down, I realized it wasn't true. I really think they made changes in their lifestyle just to accommodate us...I know I don't have much in the way of proof, but I just have a feeling."

Lex was silent for a while, letting my words sink in.

As he was about to make a comment about my thoughts, we heard a slight rustling in the bushes just off the road to the right of us. Startled, I whipped around and intently watched the spot we had heard the noise from. I pulled out my flashlight to get a better look. Unfortunately it was one of our old dull ones and didn't help much.

After a good thirty seconds of silence, Lex whispered, "Maybe it was just a rabbit scampering off. Let's keep moving."

Pensive, I turned to continue along the dusty path with my brother, but we heard the crackling of small desert shrub branches again.

My heart starting to race I asked the bush, "I-Is anyone there?"

As a rough hand shot from out of the shadows behind me to grab my face, causing me to drop my flashlight, and a gravelly voice behind us replied, "unfor'natly fer yeh, yeah."

As I tried to rip the unfamiliar hand from my mouth, its twin locked itself around my waist, holding me tightly against my captor and pinning my arms to my sides.

Lexis had his arms trapped behind his back by someone else. I couldn't make out any distinguishing features other than the person's height. This person, along with the person behind me, seemed to be roughly the same build as Pluto. This scared me, knowing what Pluto was capable of...

"Who the hell are you?" Lexis cried frantically, trying unsuccessfully to worm his way out of his captor's grip.

"Tha' don' concern yeh, yeh gonna be dea' meat soon, 'nyway," the one behind Lex growled in a sinister tone.

The one behind me moved his hand from my mouth to the back of my head to entangle his sandpaper-like fingers in my long hair and jerk my head back. I whimpered and gritted my teeth from the pain but refused to scream.

Now that he had a good grip on me, he released my waist and used his now unoccupied hand to rip my jacket off.

_Damn it damn it damn it_; I began to chant the words in my head.

I had an unfortunately low cut tank top on that caused the person across from me, holding Lex, to growl with lust. The way I could practically feel the both of them undress the rest of me with their eyes, I wanted nothing more than to spontaneously develop the ability to generate large, thick articles of clothing on my body at will.

Now that my arms were free, I tore at the hand on my mouth, trying to break myself free, but he didn't move an inch. I even tried ripping at his bare, rough flesh with my long nails, but he didn't even seem to notice.

Then with a long, deep exhale, the person behind me ran an inhumanly long tongue up the length of my face.

After leaving a trail of reeking saliva across my cheek, the one behind me giggled to the other, "this 'un 'll be good. Healthy, prolly won' die as quick as th' others."

I was filled with an intense feeling of despair as I realized who these people, rather _mutants_, were. They were part of Hades' clan. The mutants Papa's clan warned us about.

I began to flail as hard as I could, making a couple of attempts to hurt him by jamming my elbow into his ribs, but I just couldn't get enough strength into any of the blows. Getting annoyed, he wrapped his arm around my torso and arms again.

"No! No, let her go, just take me! I'll do whatever you want, just please let her go safely!" my brother pleaded, trying to break free of the solid grip the other mutant had on him.

The mutants roared with laughter as the one behind Lex hit him hard enough in the head to knock him out. My defender was unconscious. I winced, knowing there was nothing I could do on my own.

The one behind Lex dropped his limp body in the dust and slowly sauntered over to me. Whatever was going to happen, I wished they had just knocked me out, too, so I wouldn't have to be conscious for any of it.

"So...I git 'er firs'," said the one facing me. The clouds broke just at that moment for enough moonlight to flood through that I could see the man a little more clearly. He was hideous, to be sure. But what I found interesting was the army attire that he flaunted. If he liked to kill people that had been trained to kill other people, I didn't stand a fucking chance.

"Who sai' she yers? It been so long, I git this 'un firs'. Yeh ca' have th' next 'un," said the mutant behind me, defiantly.

The one in the army attire puffed his chest up and retaliated.

I had to try not to vomit at their exchange of reasons why each one should be the one to make this the worst night of my life.

I tried to block out their words, and instead focused my attention on my poor unconscious brother. I squinted and I thought I could see blood leaking out of the back of his head. I didn't think he had been hit _that_ hard. My poor, poor Lexis...

Without any warning, the arm of the mutant in the army attire swung an arm at the face of the one still keeping me put.

I shrieked, initially thinking the fist was meant for me, and tried to duck. I could only move so much, seeing as how the mutant behind me was holding on to me too tightly. After the punch, though, he angrily threw me onto the ground next to my brother and took a swipe back at the other mutant.

I nearly collapsed on top of Lex, but instead landed right by his side. I threw my arms out and shook his shoulders, pleading him to wake up. He didn't make a sound. Tears leaked down my face as the thought that he might not ever wake up hit me.

After a moment of silence followed the scuffling and shouting behind me, I realized their attention was focused toward me again. I could sense one of them making his way toward me and I froze, terrified of what I could only guess was about to take place.

He grabbed my shoulders with incredible force and heaved me up and backward so that I flew back a few feet before colliding solidly with sand and rocks. I writhed off of my back and onto my side, groaning loudly after having had the wind knocked out of me. There were a couple of sharp rocks I had landed on that had sliced me through my thin shirt and my back felt like it was on fire.

The one that had been holding me earlier came at me. For such a large man, he was very quick and was on me before I could react. I yelled, not able to contain my fear, and threw my hands up to push him away, but he swatted them away as though he were amused at my feeble attempt to protect myself. His sheer size and weight almost guaranteed that even if I could get in a good punch or two, there was no way I was going to win this.

I spotted the mutant in the army attire dragging Lex's unconscious body away, disappearing into the darkness.

The repulsive mutant hovering over me put one rough, scaly hand on my chest, pinning me down and said, triumphantly, "Jus' yeh an' me, bitch. No more dis'ractions."

"Sorry ta disappoin' yeh," growled a voice from above us.


	15. Chapter 15

AN ~ Wow, this one took me forever. I decided to re-write quite a bit of this chapter, and I certainly hope it was all for the better. Also, fortunately and unfortunately, I got a job recently. This means that I am now makin' the monies, which is great, but it also means I have very little time for writing and all the other projects I am working on. So I'm very sorry to those of you who are as impatient as I tend to be, but it will be a while between posts. T-T

As usual, thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers! It always makes my day to see a new review, and they keep me writing. :D

**Chapter 15**

I gasped and looked up to where I had heard the familiar voice emanate from.

The mutant on top of me jumped up and turned to face the owner of the voice, but only I was looking upward enough to see the silhouette of a slender man jump from the top of a fifteen foot rock face next to us. The smaller man fell on the startled mutant that had assaulted me, knocking both of them to the ground.

I scrambled to my feet to clear the area where no doubt a nasty fight was about to take place. Glancing around, Lexis and the other mutant were nowhere in sight. It was too dark in the direction that they had disappeared in, I had no way of knowing where the hell they went.

I wanted to wait until my rescuer wasn't occupied so he could help me in my search for Lexis. Then again, the man that was currently swinging his blood-stained spike strip at my attacker probably was just here to kill me himself. We had run away, Lexis and I knew that if any of Papa Jupiter's clan had caught us after our escape, it was unlikely that they would be forgiving.

The large, scaly mutant took a swipe at the smaller mutant, but the smaller one was too swift. He ducked just in time and put enough distance between the two of them to swing his spike strip at the other without harming himself.

"I foun' 'er firs' yeh lil fuck! 'M no' gonna let yeh 'ave 'er!" the large scaley man shrieked almost incomprehensibly, trying to escape the wrath of the spike strip that kept flying past his face.

"Ac'ually, _I'm_ th' one tha' found 'er firs'," growled the man in the ratty orange vest. The spike strip finally connected with my assailant's torso and ripped a gash in his side. The large mutant shrieked and fell to his knees, grasping his side where he was bleeding heavily from.

"An' she comin' back with _me_," spat my rescuer, delivering the final blow.

The spikes slashed the scaley mutant's face open, spraying blood at least twenty feet. The force of the blow and loss of blood finally overcame him. His huge figure slumped over and landed face down in the sand. If his wounds didn't kill him, they would certainly leave him much more disfigured than he already was.

I heaved a sigh of relief, only just realizing I had been holding my breath for the whole fight. The large mutant was finally no longer a threat. I almost wanted to run over and hug my savior, but the look on his face stopped me before I could even move. I suddenly felt in danger, again.

I really don't think words can even describe how much I wanted to run, but there was no use. He would catch up to me, there was no doubt about that. And I couldn't move anyway. My legs were frozen in place.

That sandy haired head lifted just enough for the moonlight to illuminate it's face so I could see his expression.

I wished I hadn't.

He looked even more terrifying than I could have imagined. Than I ever wanted to imagine.

Those mangled lips snarled at me and his eyes appeared to glow under the soft moonlight, making him seem almost inhuman. He was panting from the short, intense conflict and he gripped his spike strip tighter.

My eyes grew wide and I felt light headed. The only comforting thought I could conjure up in my head was that I rather I died by his hands than by any of Hades' clan. However, I couldn't stop shivering, and it certainly wasn't from the cool night air.

He slowly took a couple steps toward me, the snarl never leaving his face. "So...we weren' good 'nough fer yeh, huh?"

The words were not at all what I expected from him, and it momentarily kicked me out of my steady gaze on his smoldering eyes.

"What?" I mumbled dumbly.

"Yeh left us fer fuck's sake, whaddaya yeh mean, 'what'?" he exploded at me, his tone finally matching his expression. "We took care o' yeh an' we- some o' us even cared _'bout_ yeh and there yeh fuckin' go, runnin' off an' almos' gettin' yerself fuckin' killed! Yer goddamn lucky 's _fuck _tha' I jus' happened ta notice yeh lil shits weren' in yer beds!"

I winced at every expletive. I was expecting him to be angry that we had left, but certainly not that we had abused the family's trust. I was slowly feeling worse and worse, although the common sense part of me knew I shouldn't.

I didn't know how to respond to what he accused my brother and I of because, well, it was all true. So I decided the only thing I could do now was risk my life by asking him to help me while he was the angriest I'd ever seen him. Needless to say, I didn't expect it to end well...

"L-Lizard...I...um, well, t-they took Lexis away. I know y-you're upset with us, but I need to find him. They-I know they're gonna kill him soon a-and I have to get to him before they do, but I can't do it on my own. I have no idea where they would have t-taken him."

I said it all quickly, stuttering and trying not to start crying in front of him as the words I was saying began to sink in. As I really began to realize what was going to happen to my brother, visions of this morning started to flash through my mind of the man crawling out of the shed.

Those monsters had Lexis and I knew they wouldn't keep him alive long. They may keep him around a day or two to play with him like a cat plays with a mouse before delivering the killer blow, but that wasn't much time.

My lower lip started to quiver without my consent and that was enough to trigger the waterworks. I had tried so hard to prove to the family, particularly Lizard, that I was strong while I was at Papa Jupiter's house. I didn't want to ruin that image now by being a sobbing mess in front of Lizard. I had no control over my face at that moment, though. For someone who wasn't usually very emotional, I seemed to have been crying all damn day. As terrible as the day had been so far, though, I had a feeling it wasn't going to get any better.

He was silent for a few moments and I thought he was going to attack me, but I noticed a change in his silhouette. He transformed from tense and ready to lash out at any moment to relaxed. He straightened up so it no longer appeared as if he were ready to pounce on me. The anger melted off his face and was replaced with...worry?

"N-Now don' cry," he said awkwardly. "'S gonna be okay. We-we'll find 'im. Jus' stop tha'." He lowered his spike strip completely and watched the pathetic display before him, his crooked jaw hanging open slightly.

It took a while before it hit me that this was probably the first time he had seen a girl cry when she wasn't in imminent danger. He was probably so used to people crying when their own lives were at risk, that he didn't think they were capable of crying for someone else.

"So-so you'll help m-me?" I blubbered between sobs, trying to dry my damp face.

"O' course. Wouldn' wan' Ruby to lose 'er bes' friend," he coughed, those icy eyes flickering with an unexpected warmth. It was subtle, yes, but I definitely saw it.

I cracked the tiniest of smiles as I wiped my tears away, "Hey, I thought I was her favorite." I made a face like I was hurt.

He chuckled, "Yer so damn annoyin', I don' think yer even her secon' favorite."

The corners of my lips twitched upward briefly, relieved that as dry as his humor was, I could tell he was making an effort to be friendly. I had no idea why he was, considering he wanted to rip my throat out just a minute ago, but I wasn't going to complain. I just needed to find my brother before something awful happened.

Still sniffling a bit, I turned toward where the mutant had taken Lexis off to and pointed my finger. "They went in that general direction. I dropped my flashlight and I'm not sure it'll work but I'm sure we can find them just fine without it...as long as you know where they've gone."

The silence was disconcerting and I turned to find Lizard just staring at me wide-eyed. His sudden outburst of laughter actually made me jump. "What the hell?" I exclaimed, very confused.

"Yeh think we're goin' in 'lone? Ha! Hell nah, we're goin' back home and I'm tellin' th' others that we gotta save Ruby's stupid lil' boyfrien', then _I'll _take 'em to find 'im, an' _you_ stay safe at home," he said as he bent down to pick up his spike strip, turned his back to me, and started making his way toward Papa Jupiter's house.

"Wha-," I gasped, standing there, taken aback. I couldn't believe he wasn't letting me in on the rescue of my own brother.

"N-now listen, I'm going whether you like it or not, and-and..." I trailed off. He wasn't listening, he was still walking away and didn't pause for a second. I looked around, suddenly feeling very vulnerable, and quickly grabbed my jacket that was laying in the sand and took off toward him.

When I caught up to him, walking by his side but keeping considerable distance between us, I tried reasoning with him again. "Lizard, seriously, I know you don't think I have the guts to do it, but I'd sacrifice myself for him. I want to go with y-"

"D' yeh know how scared th' fam'ly's gonna be when they fin' out 'bout all o' this?" He hissed, cutting me off. I silently gazed down at the jacket I was holding in my hands, not wishing to meet the gaze of two incandescent blue eyes that were unnervingly focused on me.

"Trus' me, when we tell 'em wha's happened, they gonna want yeh to stay home, too. If I even tried takin' yeh ou' ta Hades', they'd skin me 'live," he said quietly, though every word resounded like a cannon. "No, Imma take yeh home, an' Pa, Pluto, Goggle, Cyst, an' me are gonna get 'im back." He nodded his head as if that were final.

"So why are we wasting our time going all the way back to tell them anyway? Why can't you just use your walkie talkie an-" Lizard cut me off again, "I can't cause when I lef' ta go save yer asses, I lef' it. Only thin' I had time to grab was mah spikes," he patted the spike strip slung over his shoulder almost lovingly, "an' I ran ou' 'fore I could tell any o' th' others wha' was happenin'."

My shoulders slumped in defeat. I had no choice but to play this his way, which was, unfortunately, the slow way. Assuming they formulated a game plan quickly as soon as we got back to the house, they should be saving Lexis within a few hours. But, of course, that was going to feel like years, especially if I wasn't going to be able to convince them to let me come with. I started to feel sick, just thinking of how I was going to feel, sitting around the house for who knows how long, waiting to hear the verdict. I almost couldn't bear simply thinking about it.

"So why'd yeh do it?" Lizard's voice snapped me out of my spiraling anxiety.

I sighed before cautiously answering, "I just couldn't take it. After seeing the shed near the house, seeing that man in a position that I could have been in...it just really made me finally fully realize what kind of people you are." I said the last part quietly, slightly worried about how he would feel about the way I was talking about his family. I half expected him to get violent again, and lash out at me. But his body language never changed and he didn't make a sound, so I continued.

"I know I knew it all along, but seeing it was different. And I'll be honest with you...I kind of hated the family after what happened. I could only think that you guys must not care about us as much as you insisted, if you couldn't change for us." Practically flinching as I finished, waiting for the blow, I realized how I must sound to him. He didn't strike me as the type to understand the concept of changing oneself for someone you care about.

Hell, he didn't strike me as the type to understand the concept of caring.

Lizard never made any violent advances, never even looked at me, keeping a steady pace, his gaze solid ahead of him. His silence made him appear deep in thought, but then again, I couldn't be sure.

After a few uncomfortable minutes of silence and trying to keep up with the blue eyed mutant, he spoke up unexpectedly. "We ne'er ate 'em, yeh know."

I furrowed my brow, trying to understand what he meant by that. Giving up, I asked, "Never ate who?"

"Yer parents. After Ruby asked to keep yeh, Pa sai' if we gonna make yeh part o' th' fam'ly, migh' as well treat yeh like fam'ly. And we wouldn' eat fam'ly's loved 'un's. Got a lil more dignity than tha'."

I stopped abruptly as Lizard continued on a few paces before realizing my heavy stumbling footsteps had ceased. He came to a stop and turned to face me, questioningly.

"But...but Lex told me he saw you guys eat them right before he got knocked out." I said, trying to understand what Lizard was telling me.

"Well, we took a few bites 'fore Ruby said yeh two were off limits. Then Pa said we weren't gonna use yer Ma n' Pa fer food. So we took 'em out o' th' shed an' buried 'em off in th' hills," the blue eyed mutant explained nonchalantly, as if he didn't want me to think anything of it.

My gratitude was beyond words, though. I felt like I wanted to scream and cry with joy and hug him all at once. But I knew better.

"T-Thank you," I stuttered quietly. "I had no idea. I assumed you just devoured them just as mercilessly as you did everyone else. You don't know how grateful I am." It took every ounce of strength I had left to not start crying again, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude.

Those blue eyes shifted toward the sand before us, avoiding my own brown eyes as the mutant shrugged and said, "Whate'er, I still though' yeh all shoulda been food. It was them tha' cared 'bout yeh." I could tell from his change in demeanor that he did care a little, he just didn't want anyone to know that what was probably the most feared mutant in all of Papa Jupiter's clan, cared about two outsiders.

I smiled gently at his almost childish behavior and asked, "Why didn't anyone tell us about this before?"

"'Cause they though' bringin' it up migh' hurt yeh. Figured when yeh were ready to face their death, yeh'd ask what happened. Bu' they really wanted yeh to like 'em an' they knew if it weren' fer us, yer parents'd still be 'live. So they jus' decided to not bring it up."

So they did change. To anyone else, it may have not seemed like much. It may not have been nearly enough to change anyone else's mind about the sanity of these people, but to me it meant they had hearts. They actually spared my parents of a disgraceful end and went to the trouble of taking care of the bodies respectfully. They gave up what it's in their nature to do, just because they cared about us. It was far more than I ever expected of them.

I suddenly noticed that the large gap between Lizard and myself had closed during the course of our conversation as we were now walking side by side. I blushed slightly at actually having noticed that and shook my head. I noted that he seemed relaxed. Not like the past few weeks where he only ever looked like he wanted nothing more than to run screaming from me. He almost even seemed like he was in a good mood. Under different circumstances, I may have been enjoying our little conversation as well. But right now, my brother was in mortal danger and I didn't have the heart to enjoy the moment.

"Hey, let's just hurry up and get back, okay?" I told the blue-eyed man, eager to get the rescue team out as soon as possible. I suddenly took off running down the road, feeling a sudden burst of hope. I hoped he would keep up because I didn't want to stray too far from him. As silly as it sounded, I didn't feel safe when he wasn't near. At least at night outside of the house, anyway.

Almost soundlessly, he came rushing up behind me and I turned my head just enough to see the crooked, mischievous grin on his face as he punched me firmly on she shoulder while passing me. I heard him laugh playfully ahead of me, "Sure, if yeh can keep up wit' me!" I cringed and nearly tripped when I felt his touch. It was the first time he had ever touched me without either trying to kill me, or Mama forcing him to take care of me.

I had never seen this side of Lizard before. I had seen him angry, vengeful, confused, even concerned once, but never so full of energy. I had awoken the competitive, animalistic side of him, but without the anger- he was an entirely different animal. His behavior was too playful. Something had changed in him, I just didn't know what yet.

I growled and broke into a full out sprint just to keep the blond haired man within sight.

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	16. Chapter 16

AN~ *Blush* Um, hi guys.

Well...this is embarrassing.

I know it's been about a year since my last post, but I didn't forget about you guys, I swear. D: I lost my motivation to keep writing a long time ago, even though I still had plans and ideas and what not. I just wasn't writing quite the same. So I kept putting it off...and putting it off some more. And then I got back into my photography on top of a busy life, and I guess it wasn't until now that I realized how long I put this off.

I apologize. I'm going to try to be fairly consistent until this story is done. I won't be posting as often as I did back when I started, but I'll try not to make you wait a year again. XD

So now, what you've all been waiting so patiently for!

XXXXX**  
**

**Chapter 16**

Lizard and I arrived at the house in good time. Anxiety coursed through me as soon as we entered. How will the rest of the family react to our attempted escape? I knew Ruby would be delighted to have us back, at least. I also dreaded sitting around the house waiting for the rescue to come to a conclusion. I planned on trying everything I could to convince them I should come with, but I wasn't counting on any method working.

The blue eyed man led the way up to Papa's and Mama's room, seeing as how it made the most sense to notify them of the situation foremost. He entered without knocking and got straight to business. "Pa...Ma," he grumbled as they began to stir. "Lex's been taken by Hades' clan. We need to find 'im 'fore they kill 'im."

Papa and Mama stared at Lizard dumbly as this was probably the last thing they would have expected to take place tonight. As far as they still knew, Lex and I should have been safe in our beds all night, safe and sound. Well, as safe and one can be in a house full of raping, human devouring mutants. It was surprising, really, just how comfortable and trusting I had grown to feel around these people.

"Whaddaya mean he's been taken?" Papa growled angrily. "This some sorta dumb ass joke? Cause it ain't funny!"

Lizard glanced at me before explaining. "They, uh, they tried to run. Got attacked by Hades' clan 'bout halfway to th' gas station. I left mah room to go to th' bathroom 'n saw their door hangin' open. Decided to check to see why it wasn' closed an' there yeh have it, two goddamn empty beds sittin' there. So I foun' 'em an' was able to save Lily, but I was too late fer Lex. He already been taken to th' mines."

I glanced at Lizard, surprised he had used our actual names for the first time.

"Lex wa' taken by Letch. I hurt Chameleon pretty bad. Mighta killed 'im. Not sure."

Papa nodded his head solemnly and got out of bed to throw on his filthy trenchcoat. "Get th' whole fam'ly in th' livin' room fer a meetin'," Papa told Lizard. I was glad he was focusing on the task at hand presently, although I knew that when this was over, he was probably not going to forget to yell at Lex and I.

Lizard nodded his head once and ran off to wake up the rest of the house. Papa took off downstairs and out the front door to go fetch Cyst. I simply stood awkwardly in Mama's room, not quite sure what to tell her. She watched me with an odd expression and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Yeh know, I'm surprised yeh didn' try to run sooner. I didn't expect yeh to even last two days before makin' a run fer it." She actually smiled at me as she spoke but she still had a curious look on her face, as if she were trying to figure me out. "Why'd yeh wai' so long?"

I slowly sat on the edge of the bed. "You know, I'm not exactly sure. Lex and I had talked about it, and we could have tried earlier, but we were always able to come up with reasons why it wouldn't work out for us. And I almost wonder if a part of it is because staying here...really wasn't as bad as we expected."

She smiled weakly and nodded. "We really grew to like yeh more 'n we 'spected. At firs', we tolerated it jus' cause we hoped Ruby woul' stop botherin' us 'bout ou'siders. Bu' after a while, we hoped yeh'd enjoy stayin' 'ere as much as we liked havin' yeh 'ere. I know yeh miss yer ol' lives an' we can only give yeh so much, we tried to give yeh th' bes' we coul'."

I sighed and nodded. I decided now seemed like an appropriate time to tell Mama that I knew what they had done for my brother and I.

I cleared my throat, "Erm, Lizard told me what had happened to our parents."

Mama looked away, appearing a bit embarrassed. "We were gonna tell yeh when we though' th' time was righ'. 'M sorry," she explained, apologetically. I shook my head. "No, don't worry about it. I understand that you just wanted to protect us. I wish I could have known earlier, but now that I do know the truth, after all this time thinking that you had just devoured them..." I didn't even know what else to say, how to convey my thoughts, but she seemed to understand.

The large woman got out of bed and came over to me, throwing a blanket over my shoulders. She said with a gentle smile, "Come on, let's get to th' fam'ly meetin' downstairs." I sighed and nodded my head.

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"So...we all know why we're here. Prob'em is, how'r we gonna do it?" said the leader of the pack, addressing four very bloodthirsty mutants; although, the entire clan was present in the living room, excluding Big Brain and, of course, my brother.

Ruby had been huddled on the couch, extremely distraught, while I kept my arms around her, stroking her hair gently. Mama was sitting in a rocking chair in the corner with the children on either side of her lap. Papa was standing in the middle of the room, with his four soldiers standing before him. Ready for battle, they all looked terrifying.

Papa simply looked like someone to avoid at all costs in his trenchcoat, but he was also holding a very big, very mean looking knife.

Pluto had a rusty, bloody ax that looked like it had claimed many victims in its time.

Cyst was gripping a shotgun, which made sense since his limited mobility due to his neck brace probably limited his ability to use anything other than a gun. He did have a small knife hanging off of his belt, too, though.

Goggle had a few knives hidden under his jacket and even one I could spot sticking out of one of his boots.

Lizard, of course, sported his spike strip slung over his shoulder, which looked much more menacing than usual since he had no time to clean it since his earlier battle with the mutant that had attacked me.

But probably the most worrisome part of the whole sight was the scowl each and every one of them wore.

After a few moments of silence, Cyst spoke up. "I don' know 'bout yeh all, bu' I think th' only plan we 'ave is to keep low an' keep quiet. If we seen, we 'ave to fight an' if we fight, chances are, others'll hear and come after us. I know there ain't many of 'em in Hades' clan, bu' they strong."

They all seemed to grunt in agreement. I cleared my throat gently and raised my hand. Papa looked at me, surprised. "Yeh 'ave somethin' to say, Lily?" My face suddenly grew hot, "Um, I want to come with. I know none of you think I can do it, but I want to be there. I think I have every right to help save my brother."

Ruby lifted her head from her knees for the first time since we gathered in the living room to look at me sorrowfully. I knew she didn't want me in danger again.

Lizard turned to me and growled, "Now what'd I tell yeh, Lily? Yer not comin' with; 's too dangerous."

I happened to catch Mama's face as Lizard spoke. Her subtle mixture of expressions were certainly unexpected; pride and relief.

Papa shook his head, "Lizard...I think th' girl 'as a point. She shoul' 'ave a say in if she's involved in this 'r not."

Lizard turned back to his father in shock, his mouth agape comically. "Y-Yeh can' be serious! If they- if they catch 'er she won' stan' a chance!"

"She seems to un'erstand th' risks. Still wan's to do it, though. I say let 'er." Papa threw Lizard a look that made it clear that this subject was no longer up for discussion.

I spoke again, still wanting to prove my usefulness to the disbelievers even though I had already won a place in the rescue team. "I don't know how these mines are set up, but I may be helpful to have around, being as small as I am. I can be pretty light on my feet when I choose to be and I can fit into small spaces."

Papa smiled at me. "Alright, bu' yer gonna need one o' these," he said as he tossed me an old sheathed knife with a rusty handle and about nine inches of scratched, jagged blade.

As I looked it over, I asked shyly, "I'm not sure how good I'll be in close combat. Would you happen to have any guns I could use, too, just in case?" Papa thought for a moment then asked Pluto to fetch one of his pistols for me.

I had gone to a shooting range a few times. I wasn't a great shot, but good enough.

After Pluto had delivered the gun to me, Papa made one final announcement. "Now yeh all know how this works, bu' I gonna 'splain this fer Lily. We don' want too much 'tention so th' guns are only to be used in a emergency, yeh un'erstan d? An' we only got so much ammo, so don't be waistin' any bullets, either."

I nodded, eager to get the hell out of here. The mutants sensed that and started to head out the front door. I stopped only to hug Ruby and tell her that everything was going to be alright, and to give Mama a reassuring smile.

Then I turned toward the door, and entered the eerie darkness for the second time that night.

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	17. Chapter 17

AN~ Hey guys! Life has been crazy busy, but I had just enough time to squeeze in some writing time. :3 There's some pretty intense stuff in this chapter, so it's safe to say I had fun writing this one, haha. Let me know what you guys think! As always, thanks for all your support. Your reviews keep me going, so keep them up!

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**Chapter 17**

After a silent trek through the night, the somber group arrived at the entrance of a mine shaft where they said that Hades' clan resided. I could barely see the gaping black hole where the entrance was, though the sky was just a lighter shade of blue now and I could tell the sun would be coming up soon.

Papa looked around at each member of the rescue team then nodded slowly and disappeared into the mine. The rest of the team quickly followed and Lizard had me go in front of him, while he took up the end of the line.

He never said a word, only directed me with his hands, but I had a feeling he didn't want me at the end of the line because it wasn't safe. I would have appreciated his concern, but I still wasn't sure if it was genuine, or if he only wanted to keep me alive for his sister's sake.

We traveled through winding tunnels for a good ten minutes without running into any trouble. Unfortunately, we hadn't run into Lex, either. Every minute he wasn't with me, the knot in my chest grew tighter and tighter.

Growing antsy, I pulled out my knife to keep it ready if there was a sudden attack. Just then, a loud crash sounded from a few yards ahead of me, and from the frantic shouts, I could tell that Pluto had fallen through a weak spot on the floor.

After we were sure he was okay, the panic started to set in. I knew somebody had to have heard that. Our cover was blown and it was only a matter of time before we were caught. I was not looking forward to a fight, but it was going to be unavoidable now.

Papa ordered Cyst to join Pluto and the two of them search the floor below us. Cyst jumped down surprisingly gracefully to where Pluto was and the two immediately went on their way.

Papa then motioned for the rest of us to follow him. We hurried on in silent obedience. We stumbled upon a large hole in the wall shortly after continuing on. Papa walked right by it and I couldn't explain it, but I felt drawn to it, like it was where I was supposed to go. Something about it felt like it was there for a purpose but intended to look like just a hold in the wall…like it was hiding something important.

Stopping next to the hole, I cleared my throat and called Papa's name in a loud whisper to get his attention. He stopped and turned to me. "What's down here?" I asked.

"I have no idea. There 'r all sorts o' tunnels down 'ere," he grunted, trying to read my face for an answer.

"Should we explore them? Do you think any of them could lead anywhere important?" I pressed.

Papa backtracked to where I was to examine the hole. "Well, I can' say it'd be much help t' me an' Goggle, bu' yeh an' Lizard could fit, I s'pose."

Lizard shifted uncomfortably. "'S too dangerous fer 'er. I go an' tell yeh on th' walkie if I find anythin'."

Papa stared Lizard down as the blue eyed mutant shrunk into the stone wall. "Now we talked 'bout this. If she wants t' risk 'er life, she has th' right to."

Lizard gritted his teeth and grudgingly nodded his head. "Alrigh', I go firs'. You stay righ' behind me," he growled, not looking me in the eye.

I nodded obediently. We had discussed this before we arrived at the mines; I was here only as a helping hand. I knew I was out of my league here and it was in my best interest to take orders.

Lizard crouched low to the ground and slipped in through the hole in the wall sideways, disappearing from sight. I copied his movements immediately afterward and heard a soft "good luck" from Goggle as I was consumed in total darkness.

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After a full minute of nothing but practically crawling on my knees in silence and darkness, the claustrophobia started to set in. The sand and dirt that floated in the air from the disturbance made me chough, allowing less and less air with every breath. I was starting to panic, but didn't say anything to Lizard who was already angry enough with me as it was.

After what seemed like forever, the tiny tunnel opened up into a cavernous room filled with crates of various sizes and a multitude of tunnels branching off. I took a huge gulp of air, coughed until most of my airway was cleared, and gave my heart a chance to slow its pace before I asked, "Where next?"

Lizard didn't reply immediately; he was scanning the area thoroughly. After a long silence, he nodded quickly and grunted, "I think 'ere close. Dunno how yeh did it, bu' yeh foun' a shortcut." I began to smile, it was the closest he would ever come to complimenting me, I was sure. But that smile quickly died as I was reminded of why we were here when a distant scream echoed through the room from one of the tunnels.

"Yeah," Lizard grinted. "E're close."

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**Cyst's POV**

_Damn good-fer-nothin' kids, gettin' themselves into shit the family has to risk their lives to get them out of. We take 'em in, take good care of 'em, share our precious food, water, an' medical supplies with 'em and this is how they repay us. Ah well, they are outsiders. Can't expect them not to make life difficult for us._ _Anyway, can't be too hard on 'em. I wasn't around 'em enough to talk to 'em much, but the kids have been so much happier ever since they arrived. Big Mama's happy to have 'em around, Goggle's been talking to them more that he's probably talked to any of us in the past year, and even Lizard's been on his best behaviour for the last four weeks. I heard he attacked the girl and she made it out intact. Very impressive, indeed. I'm pretty sure I know why he's been holdin' back on the girl, and I gotta say, it's a hard concept for me to wrap my mind around. I've known the bastard my whole life and I ain't never seen him give a shit what anyone thought of him, but I think he actually wants the girl's respect. Heh, dipshit doesn't know what the hell he's gettin' himself into. No outsider would ever care about him..._

_An outsider likin' him? A girl, too! He should be her worst nightmare, considerin' what he is…what he's done... _

_But not that any of that matters right now. The girl's safe with our clan now; at least I hope she's still in good hands. The real issue at the moment is the boy. Even if he dies here, he can thank the starts for how lucky he is not to be female. Even Lizard wouldn't do what they do to women here..._

Pluto trudged along behind me, silent and determined. He's the dumbest of the clan and none of us are too smart, but even he knows why we're here.

I looked around the corner as we came to a bend in the tunnel. All clear. Free to return to my train of thought…

_There's a reason the clans are separated. When the first mutant, Karen, died, her last order to her children was to continue the line of mutants. And se here we are, monstrosities damned to live in the seclusion that only barren desert and high radiation levels can provide. We've survived by stealing and murdering and as far as Papa Jupiter's concerned, that's enough. But Hades...he took Karen's wish to heart. He took over the mines where she's buried and used the chambers to create his lair._ _With the help of many other mutants, he focused on kidnapping the females of any outsiders traveling through our land to keep them to bare mutant children. Those who were unlucky enough to give birth to a live infant were kept to bare more children. The lucky ones produced a stillborn, resulting in a quick death since they were no use to Hades. _

_Not that we ever cared about the fate of any of the women Hades caught, but we didn't like that they were breeding with "normal" people. It wasn't right, contaminating the mutant bloodline with healthy blood. Papa Jupiter saw the flaw in Karen and Hades' plan and took those who were on his side with him to the test village. The clans stayed outta each other's way ever since. Hades saw all of us as traitors, but decided we weren't worth his time. We made a treaty; we established clear boundaries of areas in which any prey found within those boundaries belonged to the respective clan. Normally, we wouldn't who they took or what they did with 'em, but but the boy is rightfully ours. The problem is, we have no proof, and the boy and girl were definitely on their side when they were caught. Hades is not going to give up the boy without a fight..._

_Which brings me to where I am now, covered in filth, riskin' my ass for a child that means nothing to me. The only reason I'm doing this is for the rest of the family. Ruby would be devastated and the rest would be upset to some degree or another, save Big Brain. The cripple's still as sour as ever about their arrival. He acts like he knows somethin' we don't, but I don't care enough to ask him about it._

I hear the subtle rustling of small pebbles under heavy boots to the right of Pluto. I ready my shotgun as Pluto's grip on his axe tightens.

Let the bloodshed begin.

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**Lily's POV**

I couldn't do it. I just couldn't.

_No more, _a voice in my head pleaded only because I couldn't say it out loud. Even after the entire contents of my stomach had been emptied onto the floor, I kept dry heaving.

I wanted to leave this place more than words could describe. The stench of blood and rotting flesh was overwhelming. As nauseating as the smell on its own was, it was the endless sea of human bodies and body parts stacked on shelves and hanging from the ceiling that pushed me over the edge. I only saw a glimpse of this hell at Papa's house, what seemed like an eternity ago. But this...this was too much.

Shelves upon shelves of jars filled with various internal organs...rotting heads, frozen in expressions that told all too clearly of the terrors they experienced immediately before their death...almost as a centerpiece to the room, a rusty clawfoot tub holding a single body, disemboweled and laying in a pool of its own blood as if bathing in it.

I tried wiping away the tears that were streaming down my face from the heaving, but gave up when fresh ones immediately replaced them. We had picked a direction and went with it, but I was seriously regretting the tunnel we chose. Lizard kept watch while I tried unsuccessfully to regain my composure. I leaned on my shoulder against the only bit of wall that wasn't covered in blood or leathered human skin. I couldn't stop shaking and I felt very weak.

"Lizard?" I somehow managed to croak out. A grunt was the only reply I recieved. "I think-," I paused to try to keep from gagging. "I think you need to go on without me. I'm only holding you up."

His head whipped around and for the first time since we arrived here, his pale eyes met mine. "Nah," he said quietly. "Too dangerous 'ere. Either yeh come wit' me, or I stay 'ere wit' yeh.

So that was it. I had to keep going.

XXXXX

The last ten minutes were a blur. Lizard had been pushing me along through the winding tunnels without rest since I made it clear I wasn't giving up on this. I was still weak and shaky after the storage room, but the adrenaline rushing through me kept me going. We thought we heard a sound from ahead and Lizard covered my mouth with one hand and grasped my arm with the other as he quickly pushed both of us against the shadows cast on the nearest wall. My head spun, and I gripped my knife tightly, preparing my mind and body for a fight.

But no one ever came. We waited, listened for a full two minutes. He never took his hands off me, still as a rock while he listened intently for any sign that we were not alone.

As uncomfortable as it was to be so close to him, I felt safe. He could take these mutants down. Fight them off with ease. I'd seen it happen with my own eyes. But it was clear no one was there after two agonizingly long minutes of silence. I heard nothing but my heart pounding in my throat and Lizard's soft breath. He slowly released me and I dared to look him in the eye long enough for him to tell me silently that we needed to move on. I nodded, my grip on my knife still tight.

We pushed onward. My spirit was strong as ever, but my body was threatening to give up. I couldn't remember ever having been so exhausted. I knew I was probably holding us back, but Lizard had refused to go on without me, so I had to continue pushing forward.

The words, "Why? Why me?" played over and over in my head. Surely, this has to be the most terrible thing to ever happen to a person. To have everything one holds dear stolen from them in a matter of a few short weeks…maybe I really died in the car crash, and this is just my personal Hell. All of it…the whole thing was beginning to be too much to handle. For a while, I was somehow able to ignore certain aspects of the situation. Convince myself it really wasn't so bad. I think it was just my mind's defense mechanism to avoid simply exploding. But it is bad. Very bad, every aspect of everything that has happened since the crash is simply terrible.

I've only just come to terms with it. In the time I've been in these mines, the silence allowed me to think too much. I've lost everything that ever mattered to me. I would never see anyone again. My family, my friends back home. My family will hurt so much not knowing what's happened to us, but they would hurt more if they did…  
And my friends…the few I had had been so good to me. I felt bad for the fact that they would never know. There would be no closure. It was a small comfort that I at least didn't have anybody I was serious with back home…

We came to a hall of doors and my silent musings came to a halt. Five doors were on either side of the hallway, all of which looked menacing. They were metal with tiny grated slits for windows at the top of each one. We crept through silently, and against my better judgment, I slowed just enough to peek in through one of the windows. What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks.

Two nearly naked women, save for a few tattered rags, sat on opposite sides of a small dark room with nothing in it but a bucket and roaches to keep them company. They were chained down to the damp cement floor where their bucket had overflowed. It looked and smelled like it hadn't been emptied in days…

The worst part of it, of course, is that the both of them were very pregnant. They were probably both due in about a month. And of course I had already known that this is what they did here, but what truly shocked me was the living conditions, or lack thereof. I can't imagine anyone living long enough to give birth here.

My head started to swim, as it was growing harder and harder to breathe. Lizard grabbed my shoulder and I grit my teeth to avoid the sharp gasp I almost let out. I nodded my head and he led the way toward the end of the hallway. Before I allowed myself to follow him, I stole one last glance at the girls in the cell before two words escaped my lips in a silent apology.

"I'm sorry."


	18. Chapter 18

AN ~ Hey guys, hope you all enjoyed the holidays! I've been a little busy and also a little torn on the upcoming events, hence the lateness of this chapter. I was planning on having it done a month ago, but obviously that didn't work out. So here you go, finally! As painful as it was to make some of the decisions on how the rest of this story is going to go, I hope you like it.

As always, please comment! I want to know your thoughts on the upcoming chapters, as I feel I am breaking away from the original plan a bit, so I want to know if it was a good choice or not. Thanks so much for all the love, guys!

Without further ado, here is your story update!

XXXXX

**Chapter 18**

My eyes shot open. A stifled cough forced my eyes to the sea of mutants at my bedside. Blank. Every face was blank.

Every face but one.

One quivered with sobs, flooding my mind with memories.

And I screamed and screamed and screamed…

XXXXX

We continued down the corridor past the row of doors. From far behind us, I heard a woman's shriek, seemingly cut short. Shaking unwanted thoughts from my head, I focused on keeping up precisely behind Lizard. I could feel the energy draining out of me moment by moment. I was weak and dehydrated. Overheated and exhausted. If I was going to finish this mission, we either needed to find Lex soon, or stop for water and rest. The latter couldn't happen, so we needed to hurry.

The seemingly endless hall opened up into what seemed to be a storage room. Nothing but messy piles of boxes and weapons, some of which appeared to have been used recently. I looked around for another route to take. Anywhere that hadn't been searched needed to be searched, but considering how extensive these tunnels seemed to be, that could take days. We needed to hurry, I couldn't last much longer like this, and who knows how long Lex would be allowed to live…

My eyes scanned every inch of the walls before I decided being here was a waste of our time. "Lizard, it's a dead end. We have to go back," I whispered softly. He looked around in silence before responding with a short, "Hidd'n door. Le's go," and walked toward what I thought was a solid wall and pushed it, revealing the slightest seam outlining a thin stone door. I stared, not sure how he caught such a fine detail, as the door blended in perfectly with the rest of the wall; then again, he probably knew the tricks to keep an eye out for. While he didn't know these tunnels as well as his own territory, he still knew how the mutants thought.

I ran forward to help him push it open enough for both of us to slip through, though I don't think he needed my help. For a man of his stature, he was incredibly strong, and considering my current state, a paraplegic was probably more help than I was. After passing through to the other side, there was nothing more than a small room with three deteriorating wooden doors, one on each wall. He walked over to the one on the left and silently opened it, peering in to see if we could continue on. I watched him shake his head and slowly pull it closed enough to where I couldn't see in, but it was still slightly agape.

"Please don't tell me we came all this way for nothing," I whispered, feeling as far from optimistic as one can get. He looked in my general direction, but wouldn't look directly at me. "I 'ope so." I wasn't sure why he would say such a thing. "What? Are…are you saying you hope we don't find him?" I asked, shocked. He seemed hesitant to say any more.

"Lizard, this isn't time for games. What the hell are you trying to say?" He shot a glance over to the two other doors before answering. "I don' think yeh shoul' be 'ere."

I looked down at my feet trying to process what he was saying. Did he mean I shouldn't be here in this room with him, or was he trying to start the whole I shouldn't be on this mission bullshit again? "What the fuck do you mean I shouldn't be here? We talked about this, I have every right t-" "No. Wasn' mean' ta be like this" he said in a sharp voice. I stopped talking and waited for an explanation. "Yeh shouldn' 'ave ta see this…" he trailed off, wincing. He knew I had to pry for more answers now.

"What do you…what does that mean? I shouldn't see what?" I fiddled with the bottom of my shirt in a nervous fit. "Lizard, what the hell is in-" was all I was able to say before a sharp clang sounded in the tunnels far behind us. I turned around instinctively to see if we were in immediate danger, but no one was within sight.

I stood, frozen. The sound of distant grumbling and the shuffling of large feet could barely be heard over the pounding of my pulse in my ears. Hands shaking, I reached for the knife I had on my person. What little courage I had, left me and I only barely remembered to move out of sight and hide behind one side of the doorway. Lizard took the wall on the other side of the door.

He looked at me, about to say something, but decided against it and just held his position crouched against the wall while adjusting his grip on his spike strip. The sound from the corridor behind us grew louder, the subtle echoes ringing in my head. The sweat on my hands made it hard to grip my knife. This was it. The big moment I had hoped we wouldn't face. Part of me figured it was inevitable, but another part of me thought maybe luck would be on my side. Though I guess if luck were on my side, I wouldn't be stuck in a cave full of cannibalistic freaks searching frantically for my brother alongside the people who murdered my parents.

I tried to steady my breathing for fear of being too loud, but it was too much of a task for me at the moment. The sounds were close, and it sounded like it was only one mutant. Could be worse, I guess. I once thought I could handle tough situations. I had taken self defense classes and figured if someone ever tried to mug me, hey, I'd just punch them in the ribs a few times, kick them in the shin and they'd go away. But tonight showed me that I was helpless. Truly and utterly helpless. As long as Lizard was with me, though, I stood a chance.

It was here, now. Just outside the doorway. It knew we had _been_ here, the hidden door was left open, but I don't think it knew we were _still_ here. Lizard gave me one last look. I nodded my head, trying not to look as shaky as I felt. He nodded back and whipped around the corner straight at the enemy's face and I heard his spike strip collide with soft flesh. A deafening roar proceeded and that's when I decided to brave the creature. Upon seeing it, I realized I had made a huge mistake. It was one of the ones who had attacked me earlier, the one with the army attire.

He was staggering back from Lizard's advances, but I knew he wasn't going to go anywhere. He snarled and then caught my eye. There was something in his expression I couldn't read, but it unnerved me greatly. I took a deep breath and jabbed my knife at his torso in one swift movement and it hit, but only just. He sneered at me without even flinching and turned to Lizard and growled, "Bitch don't know, do she?" Lizard scowled and threw himself at the giant. He spun the spikes like a lasso once, aiming for the face, but the mutant threw his arm up and grabbed the strip, stopping it in mid strike. Even Lizard looked shocked, and the mutant yanked it toward himself, pulling Lizard with it. Once they were face to face, the mutant hissed something to Lizard that I barely caught. "Yeh know we better. Yeh know yeh don' fuck wi' us. Boy had it comin'," his face contorted in pure fury.

Lizard shot a glance at the door he had opened earlier. The one that was still slightly agape. I looked at it, too and slowly began to step toward it. Suddenly, it seemed very relevant. What did the monster mean, "the boy had it coming?" Had what coming, exactly? The two mutants had begun struggling against each other, fighting over the strip that had been embedded in the large one's hand. They had moved out of the room, though, past the stone door. My eyes flicked over the other two doors before resting my hand on the door to the room Lizard had searched only minutes earlier. I pushed on it and clenched my fists, preparing myself for something I would not enjoy seeing. The growing gap revealed a seemingly empty room. It was small, about the size of a closet, but upon second glance, there was very crude writing on the wall just opposite of where the door is. It seemed to say "The girl is ours." It was written in blood.

I began to grow very uneasy and looked at the other two doors again. I could hear the two mutants still wrestling and it sounded like Lizard was still going strong. I knew I should run to help him, but the message unnerved me. It was clearly left just for us. They meant for us to come here. I wondered if there were any clues to his whereabouts behind the other doors. Or maybe he was bound and gagged behind one of them. I had to check.

Running to the door that had been to our right when we walked in, I swung it open quickly in anticipation. It was exactly the same as the other room, but there were things nailed to the wall. I leaned into the room to see them better as the light was very dim and suddenly my heart dropped into my stomach. They were fingers. Severed, bloody human fingers. I shut the door as quickly as I had opened it. I had seen terrible things tonight, even worse things, but it still bothered me greatly. Everything about this place made my heart ache.

One more door needed to be checked. I hoped it had something helpful. Any sign, any clue would have been a blessing. I rushed over to it and swung it open like the last one. This one was slightly larger than the others, more like a small bedroom. There was a small overhead light that shone down on the only thing in the room. A small table. My nose burned with the stench of it and my eyes lost focus, everything growing blurry. My mind just stopped working and I sank into myself. I didn't hear the two mutants behind me getting closer, bringing their fight back into the room. I didn't hear Lizard shout my name as he realized where I was. I didn't hear the mutant rush up behind me after throwing Lizard to the ground. And the last thing my mind was lingering on before a hand collided with the back of my skull knocking me out, was the sight of Lex's severed head on the blood drenched table. My brother. My friend. My only hope…Dead.

XXXXX

My eyes shot open. A stifled cough forced my eyes to the sea of mutants at my bedside. Blank. Every face was blank.

Every face but one.

One quivered with sobs, flooding my mind with memories.

And I screamed and screamed and screamed…


End file.
